Welcome Home, Father
by RUHLSAR000 AKA Bob Fluffkiller
Summary: Being a father means you do what you have to, to make sure your child is happy and health even if you can't be there for him or her. Ezra knows this all too well. So, he'll be content watching his child grow up without him, no matter how much he longs to hold his child is his arms one more time.
1. Homecoming

**RUHLSAR000 Here! For those curious about I Don't Blame You. The next chapter is finished. I still need to edit it and figure out how to upload as I have been having issues for a while. Currently, I have start having issues with cut and paste after 3000 words and crippling issue at 6000. Given the next chapter is about twice that and over forty pages in my word processor, I am either going to have to break it apart or go figure out how to upload. This was just a dabble imagined. There maybe a few sequel ideas coming. Any way,** **I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! IT OWNED BY LORD MICKEY!**

He is the most perfect thing ever. He is kind. He is strong. He is so smart. He is the most perfect thing ever. He is quick tempered. He is quicker to forgive. He loves his family to bits and always lends a helping hand. He loves hologames and podracing and is every bit his sire's son, only better.

I don't deserve the title of 'father'. A father is the person who raises you, who helps you to be the best you can be, who puts on a brave face when you need someone to support you.

Holding him in my arms, all those years ago I knew he deserved better than a good-for-nothing dark sider of a father and a couldn't-be-bother-to-give-a-kriff mother. He deserved more. That's why I left him with Kanan and Hera Jarrus, two of the most amazing parents in the galaxy. Now, he has a dad who will support him no matter what, a mom who is the perfect balance of no nonsense and unconditional love. He has an older brother who will pick on him but beat the kriff out of anyone else who'd try to. He has two little siblings who look at him in awe. He has a kick ass aunt who happens to be the Mand'a'lor and an Uncle who is a senator and former honor guard.

My son has an amazing life. It's just a life I can't be apart of. I can't even come close or they could find out. Hera and Kanan don't even know David is my son. What would they do if they knew he was my son?

I can only watch from a distance.

David. That's the name they gave him. I couldn't even name him. Mentally, I'd like for his middle name to be "Caleb". David Caleb Bridger, it has such a nice ring. I repeat to myself every time I need strength. But David Jarrus also has a decent enough ring to it, and that name means he is happier. So, I'll just be happy watching his accomplishments and heartbreaks and life from afar.

And today is certainly a big accomplishment. It's not everyday a kid wins the biggest writing contest in this quadrant. I slide into the back of the auditorium and lean against the wall.

"Sir," An usher comes up to me. I don't bother looking up at him. I took a big risk coming here today. They are all here, in the front row. "You need to take a seat or leave."

Without looking at him I wave my hand dismissively. "I am not here. You do not see me." I recross my arms and focus back on the front row.

The man blinks shaking his hand, "What?" He rushes off to do his duty. The ceremony begins dully as a windbag with funny ears and a really bad hair cut makes a speech that he clearly thought was brilliant but any of the getting awarded kids could have easily written a better speech. This douche bag is making it about him instead of the kids.

I grip my fist, double-checking my mental shields. I take a breath, giving myself time to tell myself, _You aren't here to kriff anyone, Ezra. Think about David… Anyone getting hurt would ruin his day… And that is too extreme a reaction…_

I breathe again. Finally, the idiot invites the first group of winners and gives them their awards, then the same for the next group, and the next group, until the final group comes out, the five to seven years old. I smile as David walk onto the stage, second to the left. I clap loudly unable to keep a smile off my face. I do manage not to shout out any embarrass him, barely. It's not my place. Though, Zeb does a good job of it. They are without a doubt the loudest family in the room.

As he holds up his framed certificate up in the air, I join the second wave of applause, loudly. He is so amazing. The douche starts his closing speech. My frustration about him doesn't stop my joy at seeing David so happy. His smile is so big as he looks over the crowd. It is my imagination, but he seems to pause in my direction and I can pretend he is smiling at me. He waves at the crowd in his friendly way.

As the speech ends, David all but launches himself into his family, utterly happy instead of taking a final bow. I sigh, smiling sadly, as I push myself off the wall, use the Force to steady myself and exit the auditorium quietly. I walk slowly out of the building and down the street, alone.

The Dark Side. It promised me everything, and cost me just as much. It is a drug. And I am an addict trying to stay clean.

I walk away from the families flooding slowly into the street and out of the more affluent area. The streets become dirtier as I go to my ship. I roll my eyes as I see two guys trying to break in to it. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." I roll my eyes. They aren't worth it.

They both drop to the ground as they get non-lethal electric shock. "I suggest you get out of here." Their eyes widen as they retreat. I open my ship and head to the bedroom.

I sigh, going to the wall with half a dozen pictures I'd been able to take from a distance of them. I pick up the only one I am in, his youngest baby picture. His blue eye clash with my yellow ones, but inspite of how terrify I look, he is smiling up at me.

I close my eyes and sigh. "This certainly brings back memories."

"Yes, it does." Kanan's voice echoes through the room.

He is going to ask me why I was there. Or just demand I stay away. "So, what do you want?" I say, just as I ask almost a decade and a half ago, turning to face him.

"To offer you a choice." Kanan smiles, clearly remembering that day. "You can stay here alone with only pictures as company. Or, you can come home and meet your son." A moment passes, then another. He doesn't vanish this time.

"You knew…" I choke out after several moments.

"I'd like to say we knew immediately. But it did take a few years to figure out. His eyes should have been a dead give away to Hera. Something she kicks herself for to this day." Kanan jokes.

"Kanan, he is happy right now… I'd just mess it up." I sigh.

"Maybe, or you could make him happier, along with Sabine, Zeb, Hera and me." Kanan says. "I won't force you. This is an open invitation, though. And you've worked hard to separate yourself from the Dark Side. You may not have succeeded fully, yet. Or maybe you have." Kanan shrugs. "But even Darth Vader return to the light with the help of his son." With that Kanan turns and walks away.

I sigh, knowing in my gut what I was going to do instantly, but try to convince my mind. One… **You are too dangerous.** _You haven't killed in three years._ Two… **You'll attract negative attention.** _Like a Jedi as a dad wouldn't already do that._ Three… **He doesn't need you.** _That doesn't mean he won't want you._

"Karablast!" I say, turning around. "Kanan! Wait!" I rush out the door, opening myself up to sense him. I freeze. I turn around to face the Jedi master, who is leaning against my wall smirk on his face. I open and close my mouth, trying to think of something to say. I roll my eyes, finally, "Lead the way."

The walk back to the others is awkward and silent. "What… What do you think his reaction will be?" I, finally, ask, as we need the building the award ceremony took place in.

"I don't really know… It will take an adjustment, though… Since we told him he was adopted a few months back, he's wondered a lot about you. And admittedly, we didn't know what to say." Kanan says, honestly. I sigh. Kanan puts his hand on my shoulder. "It will be okay."

"What do you think everyone else's reaction?" I ask.

"If someone doesn't tackle you into a hug and then smack you for being an idiot, I'll be very surprised." Kanan smirks.

"But they've forgiven me. After everything I've done…" I say. It sounds like a dream.

"They get the sayings about roads paved with good intentions and you're family. We've all already lost to much family to let grudges separate us further." My master says. I freeze in place, legs shaking. Kanan tilts his head in my direction.

My arms are around him before I even register what I am doing. "Thank you…. For everything." I release him quickly, fearing that I've over step some sort of bounds.

"Kid, I've told you many times, I'll always be there for you." Kanan smiles, patting my shoulder. "Let's go home."

"Yeah." I can't keep the smile off my face, even with my nerves gnawing at my innards.

As we round the corner, I see them all clearly and in person. They look like they have in the news. Sabine looks as strong and capable as she did in her teens. Her hair had grown out and cut it diagonally across her back, a brilliant blue this month. Zeb looked every inch the senator he is, while still maintaining the doting uncle he is with one of the four-year-old twins in his arms. The other twin was in his mother's arms arguing with his twin sister. Hera was looking over the thinning crowds. And Kanan and Hera's oldest is teasing my seven-year-old son about something.

Do I have the right to interrupt this scene of happiness? No, no I don't.

"Hera!" Kanan calls out.

Hera turns immediately to them. "There you are. Where did you van-" Hera freezes midsentence.

I should leave. I should- I see Hera's eyes. I can't move. Without breaking eye contact, she hands her arm full of child into Sabine's shocked arms. The kids are looking between us confused.

Hera crashes into my arms, nearly throwing me off my already unsteady feet. "Ezra. Oh, Ezra." Hera's accent strengthens. "Where have you been?" She pulls back enough to see me but not enough to release me from her strong grasp. I get the distinct feeling that that is to prevent me from bolting.

"Oh, you know, a little here, a little there, a whole lot of nowhere." I shrug, trying to joke.

She puts her hand on my cheek. "You look like the day we pick you up... You haven't been eating properly. And the bags under your eye… Making those blue eyes of yours sparkle less." Even though she is upset at how I've been taking care of myself, she is relieved to see my eyes. I am too, after all the crud I had to go through to return to the light, some of which I will be facing for the rest of my life. She hugs me again, "Welcome home." I can hear the tears in her voice.

"I'm so sorry." I say returning the hug.

"Hehm?" The oldest kid clears his throat. Hera and I break apart to look at him. Sabine and Zeb still look stunned, but the kids look confused. "Who are you?"

I take a deep breath and kneel down to David's eye, trying to figure out what to say. I never thought I get to say anything and there is so much I want to say. I look at David. His golden blond hair goes perfectly with his eyes, my eyes, so they don't stand out as much. He got his mother's high cheekbones and her curls. Poor kid got my nose. He looks so proper in his blue dress shirt and formal black pants. He is wearing a wooden pendant or rather half a pendent, the half I left with him.

With my nerves fraying, I reach for my neck and pull my half from under my orange edged in black shirt. I let it lie against my chest visible. Gasps go through the kids as they recognize the sister pendent, none more prevalent than David's gasp.

"So, what do I call you? I mean, Dad is already, well, Dad." David asks. Then, his face goes white. "You're not going to take me away are you?!"

"No!" I cut him off immediately. "I would never take you away from your family… Our family…" I hesitantly correct my statement, hoping for no harsh reprimand.

"Our family." Hera squeezes my shoulder.

I nod, taking a breath, "My name is Ezra Bridger. As for what you can call me, you can call me what ever you want. I recognize that I am still just a stranger to you… And I… But I'd like to get to know you… But if you don't want to get to know me, that's fine. I don't want you to feel pressured to do anything-"

"Um…" David cuts me off walking closer to me. "You do know I have notice you in the crowd of everything related to me, right? Like there isn't a school play or peewee sport that you haven't missed." He got Hera's wit. YESS! Good for him. "Let see," David says putting his hand to his chin in clearly fake contemplation. "Dad is 'Dad'. Mom is 'Mom'. So, how about my father is called 'Father'?"

I open my mouth in shock, struggling to say anything, my eyes watering. "Yes." My voice cracks. "If that is okay with you. I'd like that a lot."

"Welcome home, Father." David smiles up at me. My emotions get the better of me, and even if my back yells at me tomorrow, I don't care. I scoop him into my arms and carefully hug him.

 **Reviews make me happy.**


	2. The Knock by David Jarrus

**RUHLSAR000 Here! You all can thank Midnight Luna for the quick update on this story. I finished this dabble today and then saw her review. It sounded like you needed a pick-me-up. Hope this gets you in the feels.**

 **This is for everyone. I am entering a very** **busy quarter at my college involving two math courses and a computer science course I do not know how much I will be able to update. But I will still be on the site. If you want to contact me about anything, feel free to. This chapter was interest to write as I had to right like a gifted seven year old, which is rather difficult as, while a gifted student, I was not gifted in the art of literature. It was to the point that when I started writing fanfics, despite knowing I had improved a heck of a lot, I thought I was at best an okay writer at best. It really was my beloved reviewers who gave me the confidence to actual even consider writing novels. And now I perpetually have two on the way. I love this site.**

 **I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! THAT PERSON IS A FOUR FOOT MOUSE!**

 **I apologize for errors, delays, and author's notes that are literally longer than the chapter. Also I have a new poll on my profile. Please check it out.**

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213th Annual Young Writer Contest

Ages 5-7 Prompt:

In 500 words or less, answer the question, what is a family? And what does it mean to you? You may use whatever format you wish to best answer the question.

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The Knock

By David Jarrus

I sit in front of the door. I just sit. I sit and I wonder. Are you my family? What do I mean to you?

 _A blonde woman leaves a basket on the doorstep on a stormy night. The owners don't here the knock over the storm. But the father senses something is off and finds the baby._

Did you research the people you left me with? Or did just put me on some doorstep you found? The doorstep on the other side of the door I sit in front of now.

 _A brown haired woman with a big tummy hums to herself as she looks on the holonet for some kind-hearted family. She rubs it, gently. She decides to knock on that door._

Do you want to know about my family? There's Uncle Zeb. He's really big and smells bad. But I don't mind. He's really good hugger. He lifts me high into the air. He's the tallest person ever! There is Aunt Sabine. She is so colorful. She always looks like a rainbow and her hair is always a new color. She taught me how to draw. Lately, I've been drawing you. Sometimes you are with my family. Sometimes you are alone. There's Kemen, my big brother. He's a meanie and always teases me. But, he'll always play with me and chases the bullies away. The twins are Fajr and Aibek. They always get into my stuff and know they can get away with anything by looking sad. Mom is great. She can make any machine work with just a wrench and makes cookies for me and tucks me in. Dad is great. He sees more than anyone even though his eyes don't work. He always knows when one of us gets a nightmare and makes them go away. I am not alone. Were you alone? Are you alone?

 _A red haired woman struggles up. She is alone. She puts her hand on stomach. No, she isn't alone. But that won't help her. She is tired. She needs money to eat. So she gets up. She cries. She can't do this on her own. So, she will knock on that door._

Did you love someone like Mom loves Dad? They love each other a lot. They tease each other. They laugh with each other. They cry with each other.

 _A black haired woman cries in black. Everyone around her is in black. It makes her chest hurt more. She cries because he should be here, with her and the baby in her tummy. But he's not. So, she will knock._

Did you want me?

 _A woman holds a stick in her hands. It makes her smile. She puts her hand to her tummy and whispers. "Hello. I love you, already." For some reason, she will knock._

There is one more thing I want to know, as I sit in front of the door.

Will you knock, again?

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"So, what do you think?" David asks, his parents after he finishes reading it out loud. His teacher is making everyone enter this contest. And this question hadn't been easy for him. Especially since he learned he was adopted a month ago. But, he felt better now, though he isn't sure how well he answered the question.

His parents are quite a moment. "You don't like it?" David rocks back and forth on his feet. Arms wrap around him. He is in both his parents' arms. His mom is kissing him.

"It is beautiful, Sweetheart." Hera smiles at him. But her eyes are teary

"But I didn't answer the question." David says.

"Yes, you did. It's just not a straight forward question for our family." Kanan smiles. "We've always been a one of a kind family."

David senses that they are sad. "You know you are my parents and I love you right?"

Hera and Kanan smile. "Of course, we do." David sense their honesty. So why are they still sad?

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 **Thank You Time!**

 **Thank you CloudyRaven for favoriting. Thank you zehealingman, jpeck2000, and Ichichi05 for following. Thank you rebekahtpe for following, favoriting and review. Glad to give you the feels. What's hybrid-con? Hi Midnight Luna, thank you for review. I hope your family feels better. I missed you too. And you are never alone, you have inner fangirl. But I'll try to update more often. The I Don't Blame You chapter took a longer time than I thought it would. Thank you EmpressRulerofallthatisweird for reviewing. Hail to my Empress, I bow to you. Thank you Gummybear1178 for favoriting, following and reviewing. Thank you** **force girl1225 for favoriting. Thank you Mbols2510 for following.**


	3. Tell Me

**RUHLSAR000 here! I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! HAIL TO OUR GLOROUS MOUSE! I apologize for errors, delays and long winded author's notes.**

I can't believe it. I set down my last box into the former guest of Kanan and Hera's house. "You're sure about this? I could find an apartment or something." I ask.

"Yes, yes we are. Besides, this way you'll be closer to David." Kanan smiles, patting his shoulder.

"I don't think he is comfortable with me, yet." Ezra cringes, then sighs.

"It's a big adjustment." Kanan says.

"Yeah, but the other kids have become comfortable with me already. The twins have even started calling me Uncle." I point out.

"They have less of a personal stake in it." Kanan counters.

"I know," I say, looking out the window. David is sitting on one of two swings attached to a fort–like playhouse. "I'll be right back, Kanan." I turn to leave.

"Ezra." I pause. "Good luck." Kanan says.

"Thanks." I head out to the backyard. I take a deep breath. "Hey."

David looks up at me. "Mind if I sit here?" I gesture to the swing next to him. He shakes his head. I sit down. After a moment, I say, "I know, that all this is crazy for you. It's crazy for me too. But, I want you to know that there is nothing you can't tell me. And… If you don't want me here, all you need to do is say it. You can go back to the way things were before."

"So, you can run away, again." David says, under his breath in the way that kids do when they want to tell an adult something but are afraid to

So, that is what this is about. I don't know what hurt more, what he said or the voice. "No, David. I just want you to be happy." I twist the swing to face him.

"Father… Did you want me?" David asks, looking down but glancing up at me.

"Oh David, of course, I did. Holding you in my arms for the first time is one of the happiest moments of my life. And holding you two weeks ago, when you accepted me back is the happiest moment of my life. I wanted to be in your life so much. It felt like my heart was being ripped out everyday I wasn't with you." I say, taking his hand in mine.

"Then, why did you leave? You could have stayed with all of us." David protests, his nose sniffling in almost tears.

"I can't offer a good enough excuse, because there are no good excuses. I can say, until two weeks ago, I never thought I would receive everyone's forgiveness. I still can't believe it. And I didn't want that to effect you." I take a deep breath. I wish I don't need to say what I was about to say. "David, I'm not a good man. I have fallen. I have hurt others. I've lied. I wouldn't blame anyone for not forgiving me. When you we born…You made me want to be better. But, I also knew you deserved better. You deserved a father and a mother who could be your heroes. You deserved to grow up in a place where you could run and laugh and be a kid. You couldn't have that with me. That's why I left you with Hera and Kanan. I knew they could be your heroes, because they are mine."

"You were just trying to give me the best life?" David asks, gulping.

"Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. For everyday, I will always do my best to give you that." I squeeze his hand. "And I've always tried to be there even if you didn't know, couldn't know."

David is out of his swing and into my arms. There is a loud snap and I lands on the sandy ground with a thud, David in my arms. The swing had snapped. We lie there for a moment, surprised. "Hera's going to be angry." I note. David starts laughing. And I do, too. "Come on," I say, pushing myself up into a sitting position with my arms. "Lets fix this before they find out."

"Ezra! David!" Hera calls out from the deck. We both tense at that, but we also sneak a smile to each other

 **Thank You Time! Thank you Grandmaster-Kayla for following.** **Thank you Thank you Maliwan for favoriting, following and reviewing. Yeah, clearly they aren't living on the Ghost anymore, but Hera still has it and uses it quite often. Thank you Gummybear1178 for reviewing. Hope this chapter was good. Thank you Casstrum93 for favoriting, following and review. I would be inclined to agree with you if I didn't murder the fluff by time I wrote chapter 4.**


	4. Secrets

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Dang it! I killed Fluffmealion. It was the first Fluffmander I was able to evolve. Now I'll never get Fluffzard in my** **pokedex. My inability not to destroy the fluff aside, you know the drill. I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! ONE WORD, DISNEY. I apologize for errors, delays, and author's notes that are longer than the chapter. I should have the next chapter of I Don't Blame You up next week, if all goes well, but again it is 40+ pages. I'm am questioning my sanity.**

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I smile as I spy Fajr hiding behind the curtains, as the kids play hide and seek. It is adorable, especially with them roping Zeb into it, even if Aibek accidently spilt juice on me in a rush to find a hiding spot. Seriously, why did I think it could possibly be quiet with Hera and Chopper doing some job? I go into my room and grab a new shirt from my closet and walk a few steps to my bed, dropping the new shirt onto my bed. I take my shirt off and toss into the hamper. I pause as the realization of how perfect everything is hits me, again.

A loud bang comes from behind me causing me to spin around, instantly on edge. Bounty Hunters?! First Order?! Knights of-

Child's laughter follows, relaxing me. I shake my head at how ridiculous I am. Old habits, I guess. I turn back and start to put my shirt.

A hysteric cry startles me. David! I open myself up to the Force, locating him immediately. I drop down and pull him out from under the bed. "David!" I call his name. David wraps his little arms around my scarred chest. He buries his head into my chest, as if it is a lifeline. "David, what's wrong?" I check him over for injuries, removing my shirt, wrapped around my neck, when it got in the way.

"Bu-N-ke-waaa!" David is able to say between hysteric breaths. That is not helpful. Two months and I am already failing this parent thing,

No injuries that I can see. Karablast! What's wrong?

"David, please, I want to help but I can't unless you calm down." I say, my heart breaking as I squeeze him tightly.

"David!" Kanan yells and the entire family rushes in, including the kids. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. He doesn't appear hurt." I say. Did I do something wrong? What do I do?

"Breath." Kanan says, kneeling down besides me. "Both of you."

Kanan's right. I take a breath and start sending calming waves to my son. A foggy memory comes from my childhood. Mom… I close my eyes and rub his back like she rubbed mine, I hum her song like she did.

David eventual calms down a little. "David, are you alright?" David nods. "What happened?" I ask in a calming voice.

"I was hiding…." David hiccups. I kiss his forehead; silently telling him everything is alright. "hiding under the bed…. You came in… I wanted to… to surprise you… I grab your ankle." Karablast. Karablast! Everyone is going to freak, which is exactly why I haven't discussed this. "You didn't react."

"No, I didn't…" I gulp back. How do you tell your son you aren't invincible, that you can get hurt, very, very badly?

"Then, I poked you. You didn't feel it, did you?" David looks up at my family. I close my eyes and shake my head, slightly. I can't lie to him. And this is the hardest thing for me to admit out loud. "There's a hum around you when you stand, like you're using it. And I sensed you using it more when you spun around. You were using it to move your legs, weren't you?"

"You are too smart sometimes," I sigh. "I haven't been able to use my legs in years…" The gasps I hear from my family make me shake.

Zeb puts a hand on my back. The kids are looking around confused. "What happened?" Kanan asks.

"If some guy did this, I can brush off the ole bow-rifle." Zeb growls.

"It was nothing like that." I say, looking at Kanan. Karablast! How do you tell your best friend you can't walk because of his kid? Um…

Vaguely, and hope he doesn't figure it out. "I was trying to lay low for a while… for reasons… A family had decided to go camping near where I was staying. One of the kids went exploring. A groundquake struck. I used the Force to stop the rockslide from burying him. I mean, I wouldn't have wish losing a child on my worst enemy, even at my lowest. Unfortunately, I couldn't protect myself."

"Karablast." Zeb shakes his head, and Kanan can't even bring himself to scold the Lasat for swearing in front of his kids.

"No wonder you get tired at night, you've been using the Force all day. Even Dad complains about headaches sometimes." Kemen shakes his head, sadness radiating of him.

"I used to have a wheel chair for a while, but it got broken… in a volcano. Please, don't ask" I shrug.

"We could get you a new one, if you want." Kanan offers, still clearly shaken.

"I don't want to be any more trouble." I say.

"Kid, you aren't trouble. Well, you are. But, this isn't one of those things." Kanan says, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"But…" I start.

"Father, listen to Dad." David says, unburying himself from my chest, but not releasing me.

I chuckle, but my eyes are itching. "Thank you."

"Is there anything else we could get to make things easier for you?" Kanan asks.

I bite my lip. "Well, sometimes it is hard to get out of bed or off the ground." I scratch the back of my head, as David moves to hover at my side.

"You're not alone anymore." Kanan stands, offering me a hand.

I am not alone.

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 **Thank** **You Time!**

 **Thank you jpeck2000 for following. Thank you blue knight0712 and lamtuyetminh179 for favoriting and following. Thank you Snowtiger 21 for favoriting. Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. I hope you are feeling better. If not, Niquil is wonderful and why haven't you gone to a doctor? Do you still have the feels even though the fluff is dead? Why can I not keep fluff alive? Thank you Guest for reviewing. Is it still lovely? Thank you CloudyRaven for reviewing. It is sad. I wish all children could be loved unconditional. Thank you Gummybear1178 for reviewing, Glad you liked the swing thing. It was a last minute add in. Thank you Casstrum93 for reviewing. Don't worry. The Dark Side isn't like a regular addiction. I am fairly certain that once over come, the former user is almost vaccinated against falling again. Beyond that, the strongest aspect of Ezra's character is his loyalty to those he cares for. He will put himself through just about anything if it means protecting those he cares about. Heck, that is the only way I can see him actually falling to the Dark Side. David and the Jarrus are stuck with Ezra unless something or someone from Ezra's time on the Dark Side comes back to bite him. I'd be more concerned about his other parent. After all, Ezra was throughly in the Dark Side's grip when David was born. Got to wonder what woman would find a Dark Side user attractive.**

 **Question Time! Who's pumped for Hera's Heroes? I've been wanting some Ezra and Hera bonding time for a while.**


	5. The Droid That Loves

**RUHLSAR000 Here! And clearly I didn't get the next chapter of I Don't Blame You. This week turned insane and I think I lost my remaining sanity. Do I even need to do the disclaimer? You all know I don't own it and I am too tired to do it. Good night, y'all. FYI an's the night before I post.**

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Hera's reaction to seeing me in a wheelchair after returning from her relief mission, which I fairly certain now was actually resupplying the Resistance, was immediate and reminded me the true depths of a mother hen's worry. Her reaction to finding out I had been paralyzed from the waist down and had not told anyone, I have no doubt, will go down in local legends and reminds everyone that she is the same woman who is responsible for growing the Rebellion and taking down the Empire. My ears still ring three days after.

My real concern is Chopper. And I can't believe I am saying that. He's mainly been quiet. Now, I may still be getting used to staying with everyone, but in the two months I have been here, Chopper hasn't seemed to change. And I remember, a quiet Chopper is a dangerous Chopper.

I sigh, lying in bed. I glance to my right and smile at David, whose curled into a nest of blankets. He's been wanting extra cuddles since he found out. And I am not going to tell my seven year old to go back to his bed like a "big boy". I've already missed too much time. "Wa-whan." I hear Chopper's bianary, surprising me out of my early morning stupor. I use the Force to pull the movable handle attached to my bed over me. Using it, I pull myself up into a sitting position.

"Chopper?" I ask, looking at the droid whose tazer is out. "Wait. Did you just taze me?"

"Woan wan," Chopper beeps before wheeling out of the room. I groan, reaching out with the Force and pull my wheelchair to the bed, levering myself into it.

I roll after him. "Chopper."

The kitchen/family room is droid free. I check the bathroom. He is leaning forward against the sink. "Chopper?"

Chopper jumps and spins around, waving his arms in the hand and beeping like crazy about entering bathrooms. I hold my hands up in a surrender position. "Okay, okay. Don't wake the house. Let me back up." I try to roll back but get stuck in the doorway. I groan, "Give me a sec." Chopper comes and helps me get through the door. "Thanks."

Chopper beeps out a response something like "No problem". I smile. Chopper may be grouchy old droid, but if a droid ever loved anything, it would be Chopper. He loves his family. Oh.

"Chop, you know, this isn't new for me, right? I've been dealing with it for about two years, now." I pat his dome. "I'm fine." Chopper moves his head to the side, clearly not liking my answer. "Thank you for caring, Bud. I'll admit there are hard days. But I'm not dealing with them alone anymore. I've got you, and Kanan, and Hera and everyone. I'm grateful for that."

Chopper beeps an agreement.

"And now you're not alone in pretending to roll over Zeb's toes." I joke. That gets a cackle out of the droid. I smile and turn my wheelchair. "Ow! What the kriff?" I turn my head to the tazer crazy droid. "I can still feel my arms." Chopper beeps at me. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I won't keep something like this again."

 **Thank you time! Thank you HarmonyGirl567 for favoriting. Thank you AngetianPrincess18** **of following. Thank you repaidcrab7992 for both. Thank you rebaktpe for reviewing. Hope you were able to watch it. Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. Please just rest and get better. And in reference to your question in the recent in the lightening story, yes in Legends Jedi could wield lightening. Thank you Gummybear1178 for reviewing. Yep, Ezra loves his family. Thank you Casstrum93 for reviewing. You may hear about them. *Looks bashful* Thank you Grandmaster-Kayla for review and for the wonderful complement.**


	6. Uncle's Helmet

**RUHLSAR000 Here! And bad news, unless something pops up, this story won't be updated next week. Good news, I will be updating I Don't Blame You. And maybe after that I can get back to Ner Vod. I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! GO MICKEY! I apologize for errors, delays, and long-winded author's notes.**

Nostalgia fills me as I walk through the halls of the _Ghost._ It has been years, over a decade, since I've been on this ship. I walk from the mess to the quarters and into the one that was mine and Zeb's. Woah… All of my posters are on the wall. I walk over to my collection of helmets and pick up my old cadet helmet. I look back up and see Sabine's old mural. I could laugh. They kept all of it. I could cry.

I heard a sniffle. My head shoots up to my bunk. "Hey." I walk closer to the bunks, my cadet helmet on my hand.

Kemen jumps at my voice. "Ezra, I didn't hear you." Kemen says, nervously.

I raise an eyebrow and use the Force to maneuver myself up to the bunk.

"You're not in your wheel chair?" Kemen asks.

"Yeah, I've never been good at sitting still. It really only for when I am getting a migraine from Force use." I explain.

"I'm sorry." Kemen whispers.

"Not your fault. It is just the way things are." I smile, reassuringly.

"Yeah, it was." Kemen says, quietly.

"It-"

"Was. I was the kid, wasn't I?" Kemen cuts me off, looking up at me with teary eyes.

I sigh, putting my hand on his shoulder, "I'm surprised you remember, you were so young…"

"I was seven. Same age as David." Kemen protests.

"Same age as I was the last time I saw my parents." I say. "Seven is still too young to deal with those sort of things."

Kemen sighs, "So… it really is my fault…"

I sigh as well, "Do…Do you know how your father was blinded?" Kemen shakes his head. "Thought so. I probably shouldn't be telling you this, at least not without Kanan being present. But… Kanan and I were searching for information on how to defeat the Sith. I met a guy who was stranded on the planet we were on for a long time. Against Kanan's advise, I trusted him. And he blinded Kanan to get to me."

A small hand wipes a tear from my eye. "It wasn't your fault."

"But it certainly felt it. Even now, I know it wasn't. But it feels like it." I say, taking a deep breath. "I know, it's hard, but life has a way of righting itself and eventually good things can come from bad experiences. Sometimes, it just takes longer to see it. For me, looking back, there are a lot of things I regret. But if any of them didn't happen, David would not exist. It doesn't justify anything I did, but that's life."

"What good could come from what I did?" Kemen growls, burying his head into his arms.

"First, you did nothing. Wrong place, wrong time. Second, this." I point to my eyes.

"Your eyes?" Kemen asks, confusion marring his face.

"The Dark Side turns its user's eyes yellow when they've been fully immersed." Kemen tilts his head. "My research had shown that to leave the Dark Side, a personal sacrifice in an act of the heart is needed. One of the reasons it rarely happens." I smile at him, twisting the helmet in my hands. "I traded my legs for a way home. I don't regret it. And you shouldn't either. I know that may be hard for you, so start with forgiving yourself. If you need help, come talk to me. I can tell you what NOT to do… And maybe even a few tricks I've learned along the way." I say, spinning my helmet in my hand. Kemen nods, but I still feel sadness rolling of him. I stop spinning it and put it in his lap. Kemen looks up at me. I smile, holding it out. "Take it. It's yours"

"Mom and Dad never let us touch the helmets." Kemen protests.

"Well, given that it is mine, I don't think there will be any problems." I smile, as I feel his gratefulness.

"Um… can I ask you something?" Kemen asks

"Anything." I brace myself for uncomfortable question like what I had done.

"Can… can I call you uncle?"

I gasp in surprise. "Kemen, I'd be honored-" Kemen's arms are around me before I can finish my sentence.

 **Thank You Time! This one is extra long because of last weeks one shot.**

 **Patched Together. Thank you rebekahtpe, lamtuyetminh179, and Rebel-lover for following and favoriting. Thank you AngetianPrincess18 and rebel-blueberry for favoriting. Thank you jpeck2000 and Ichichi05 for following. Thank you RedirbArze EzraBridger for following and reviewing. Yes, Ezra is a sweetheart. Like in the lastest clip where he sacrified himself for Sabine. Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. Glad you are feeling better. I don't sound like a girl? I'm teasing. The Last Battle. I loved it. Ezra really did act like a Jedi in that episode, even more than the council members did during the war. It probably would have meant more to me if it had been the Clone Wars that got me into the EU. But I honestly never could get into the show. Rebels is what did for me. I'll let you in on a secret. *Whispers* I wasn't really into the idea of Rebels during the first few episodes. I know. But, the way I saw it, Luke was the last of the Jedi and I wasn't crazy about there being others floating around. Then I saw an episode, Fighter Flight, and fell in love with it and binged all six episodes at the time. And the rest is history. Now I am demanding they survive and looking at Yoda's words from a different point of view(That and it Legends can have dozens survive to New Republic era then canon can have two). I find it rather interesting that the Clone War, which I was looking forward to, lost me two or three episodes in and Rebels, which I was not, got me hook-lined-and-sinked in two or three episodes. Thank you kgirl1 for reviewing. Thank you Casstrum93 for reviewing. Crud, now I got a plot bunny of the quilt being destroyed... I am kidding, put down the pitchfork! There is a reason I have no intension of continuing that story, with maybe the exception of having the other see it and I am hesitant to do that because it is something just for Hera and Ezra. Those two have such a strong bond, which is incredible when** **you realize they, unlike almost every other combo of characters, have not had an episode together, before Hera's Heroes, since Vision of Hope. That makes to things clear. One, if they were to focus on them for another episode, they could end up having a stronger bond than Ezra and Kanan pre-Malachor. Two, Ezra is 100% a momma's boy. It all makes sense.**

 **Last Chapter. I'll try to make this quick so the AN isn't longer than the story. Thank you Silverfox22 and LordSkyjacker for following. Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. Thank you Casstrum93 for giving that perfect rendition of what is going to happen when Zeb next visits. Literally, I saw that happening in my head as I was reading it. Thank you Sparkle for reviewing. Who says Ezra was married? Frankly, I haven't figured that out yet myself, though I am leaning on no. You'll see why when she does make an appearance. Thank you Grandmaster-Kayla for reviewing. Again, thank you. Reviews like yours have given me the confidence in my writing to start recording my own stories down and I am currently working on a novel because of all the support I have gotten on this site. Thank you Gummybear1178 for reviewing. I think, with the exception of Hera, Chopper's closest organic bond is with Ezra, so I must agree with your "awww..."**

 **Bye everyone.**


	7. An Outside View In

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Here's a short chapter after last week's** **behemoth of an update for I Don't Blame You. That was about as bad as I thought it would be, taking about two hours to upload all of it. This chapter was actually inspired by an article I saw a while back about a biracial family who had the cops called on them as they didn't think the father could be the children's father because they look so different. I got to say I have mixed feelings about because yes children can look very different than their parent and the whole stranger danger thing is honestly siding on bull, because children are more likely to be kidnapped by family or friends of family. On the other hand, better safe than sorry. Let me know your thoughts. I DO NOT OW STAR WARS REBELS! RIGHTS GO TO THE MOUSE! I apologize for errors, delays and author's notes longer than the chapter.**

"Alright, Kemen…" I sigh, looking around. "Where did Fajr go?" Why did I agree to take all the kids grocery shopping?" Kemen shrugs. Well, that's not helpful. "Where would a five-year-old girl go?"

"Buried treasure." David says in a bored tone, having attempted to put his favorite sugar coated cardboard into the cart and thinking he had succeeded. I lean over pulling it from the cart and sliding it back onto the shelf.

"Kemen, could you go grab her from the gardening area. Meet us in the deli." I sigh, extending my sense. Yep, there she is.

"Yes, Uncle." Kemen nods, before wandering off.

I wonder, with David and Aibek, over to the bakery. David is still huffing about the cereal. I smirk, looking at several types of bread loafs and, when his back is turn, slide a container of four chocolate muffins into the cart, hiding it under a bag of frozen peas. Aibek smiles, widely his little pink lekku twisting in joy. I hold my finger up to my lips and the four year old giggles, nodding his head eagerly.

"Excuse me."

I turn to see a torguta security officer. "Is there a problem?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I am going to have to ask you and the children to come with me," He says, sounding authoritative. Or trying to. Yeah, with the amount of actual authority I have come across, he only sounds like a guy putting on airs. He glares at me when I don't immediately submit. For the love of- My sister is a ruler of a planet of warriors, and she doesn't need to puff out her chest to display the fifty donuts she had for breakfast.

"May I ask why?" I ask, rolling my eyes. What did Fajr do now?

"You are under suspicion of kidnapping and we cannot allow you to leave with the children until we sort this out." The man informs, his voice already saying that as far as he is concern, there is no "suspicion" about it.

What the kriff? I haven't been near any kids outside my fam- I glance down at David and Aibek, who are looking confused. Karablast. "David is my son. AND Aibek, Fajr and Kemen are my niece and nephews. I am babysitting them for their parents."

"Then this shouldn't take long to figure out." The security guard gestures me to the backroom where the manager is standing.

I groan, following. "If the ice cream melts, I'm not paying for it."

"Uncle Ezra!" Kemen calls, running towards us. Fajr, covered in topsoil… again, being drag behind him. "What's going on?"

"I need you to behave and take care of everyone." I say, knowing they are probably going to separate me from the kids. Sure enough, they do. I keep my senses trained on them to and send calming waves when one of them starts getting really upset. They actually appear ready to arrest me, especially when the cops show up.

Unfortunately, Kanan is off world do to his Jedi duties. And Hera is apparently having a really busy day at her mechanic shop. After the fifth time, it went to voice mail at Hera's shop and third at the Jedi temple, I don't need Force to tell the cops are getting tired of this. I really don't want to have to do a Jedi mind trick to get out of this.

Finally, I get through to the temple's transmission station. A droid also know as golden rod appears on the hologram. "This is the Jedi Temple Hololine, please state your business." I can literally see every single eyebrow in the room raises.

"Threepio, can you get Kanan for me?" I ask.

"I am afraid Master Jarrus is in the middle of teaching a class. But I can pass on a message." Threepio says.

I suppress a groan. "Threepio, it is a bit of an family emergency. Can't you make an exception."

"Oh My! Is everything alright?" Threepio says.

"It will be, once you get Kanan on the line." I snap.

I watch as Threepio gets a comm. "Paging Master Jarrus. Come in. There is a.. uh…"

"Ezra Bridger." I offer, ready for this day to be over.

"An Ezra Bridger on line four. He says, it is an emergency." Threepio says.

Kanan is on in two seconds. It literally takes three hours of explaining, arguing, Kanan managing to contact a now furious Hera and get her to come to the back office with both, birth certificates and adoption papers and explain that I am in fact David's biological Father and has every right to call him my son, three times, to get them out. Though, we don't need any words to know we aren't shopping there, now or ever again.

The crying kids hug us tightly, after being reunited, and promptly fall asleep in the car.

I sigh from the passenger seat of the hover. "Sorry."

Hera starts, "Ezra, that wasn't your fault." I can only sigh, feeling that he could have prevented it some how. Hera, meanwhile, bites her lip, no doubt equally frustrated.

 **Thank You Time!**

 **Patched Together: Thank you Lone Laken for reviewing. I always give shoutouts because love hearing from everyone. As I have stated many times, I wouldn't be a writer without you all. You all have given me the confidence to be a writer and have supported me, and for that I am eternal grateful. As such I want to engage everyone, to let them know what they all mean to me.**

 **Welcome Home, Father: Thank you Silverfox22 for following. Thank The Delta 42 and LordSkyjacker for favoriting.** **Thank you Gummybear1178 for reviewing. How did you like the family life? The kids have Ezra wrapped around their fingers. Thank you Casstrum93 for reviewing. As I have stated before, I am glad you are feeling better. Thank you Grandmaster-Kayla for reviewing. I think I actually had to do that too after I finished writing it. And after subsequent rereads. Is it weird I like reading my own work? Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. I am going to have to keep you in suspense on how I write good OCs as I really don't want a AN longer than a chapter... again... Is Inner Fangirl hype for the next chapter of I Don't Blame You? Thank you Codymitchell1 for reviewing. I always try to include some sort of consequence for Ezra when he goes to the dark side as it does promise the world but it cost just as much and that is an interesting dynamic to play with.** **Thank you HiddenJade** **Bluerose for reviewing, favoriting and following. I seem to have a habit of causing peoples' inner fangirl/boy to have mental break downs. Sweet, that means I am doing a good job :D As for David's mother, I already have the next 7-8 chapters finished and she definiately has a** **presence in them. I'll leave it at that.**

 **Bye see you next week.**


	8. A Grabbag of You

**RUHLSAR000 Here! I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! HAIL TO KING MICKEY! Sorry eagerly awaiting Kingdom Heart 3. I apologize for error, delays, and author's notes longer than the chapter.**

"You're pondering, Little Writer." I note as I sit on the other end of the coach. David jumps, hugging his datapad to his chest. "When am I going to get to read that?" He's entering the 214th Annual Young Writer's Contest, which wasn't due for another month. I'm not sure why he seems to be having trouble. The prompt is to write about your hero. Maybe he's have trouble picking between Hera and Kanan or even Zeb and Sabine.

I'm sure he'll do well. But he's not letting me read it, even to proof. Both Hera and Kanan have already read it. Granted, he scrapped the copy shortly there after.

"When it's perfect." David smiles, an I-got-a-secret smile.

 _Of course,_ I sigh, quelling the sadness that is forming in my stomach. Kanan and Hera raised him. I've only been in the picture for a couple of months. Of course, he'd be more trusting of their opinion on his writings and, well, everything. "So, what's on your mind?"

"Mom and Dad named me 'David'." David says, tilting his head at me. I nod a confirmation. "So, is there something you called me before?"

"David, I realized fairly quickly, that even if D- your mother was in the picture, that it wouldn't have been safe for you to stay with me. Besides, you deserved better than anything I could give. And naming a child, really should be done by the parents that raised the child, so I left it for your Mom and Dad to decide." I sigh, admitting one of the conscious thoughts I had back then, the ones that held back naming him. The other was that I wouldn't have been able to have let him go.

"Oh," David sighs, sounding disappointed.

I sigh, hating that look, "Caleb."

"Huh?" David looks at me confused.

"It's the name I wanted to name you." I clarify, admitting what I didn't even acknowledge back then. David still looks confused, probably wondering why. "Caleb Dume was the name of the greatest man I have ever known. I wanted to name you after him."

"Caleb." David tests it on his tongue. "I can't really see me as a 'Caleb'."

"Our names never do fit when we are given them, they grow with us, becoming part of our identity. That's what makes them so powerful." I smile, enjoying teaching my son.

"What about people who changes their names?" David asks. He seems to be worried for some reason.

"There are many reason for them, but it boils down to the name not being able to represent the person's identity anymore." I answer, thinking of each work carefully.

"What is identity?" David asks.

Wow… I am a dork. "Identity is like a bag of things that make you who you are or what you consider yourself." I get a blank expression. I pause thinking of alternative ways to explain. "Look at me. I am the son of Ephraim and Mira Bridger. Former padawan to Kanan Jarrus. Former rebel. I love jogans. I am loyal to a fault. I'm a fighter. I fell. I returned. I am a follower of the Bendu. All these things are parts of what makes me 'Ezra Bridger' and not 'Sam-from-down-the-street'."

"I think I get it." David says, though I still sense confusion.

"It's one of those words that only life can teach you. " I smile, reaching over to ruffle his head.

"Ezra, David." I hear Kanan's voice.

"Hey Kanan." I smile.

"David, Mom wanted you to help clean the Ghost." Kanan says.

David sighs, knowing that tone, "Fine." David gets up and heads out to the garage.

"So." Kanan leans against the back of the couch. "Caleb Dume is the greatest man you've ever met." Teasing lasses his voice.

But there is nothing to tease. I smirk. "Always has been since I met him. After all, not many people would give a street rat a chance." Kanan leans over and hugs me.

 **Writer's Corner: Wow, been a while since I've done one of these. BurnThoseEyesBlue. She is a phenomenal writer. Her oneshots are some of the most sweetest I have seen. She did both Circus and Children Get Older and several other.**

 **Thank You Time! Thank you blackdepth for following. Thank you Maliwan for reviewing. Oh he is going to keep having long days that is part of being a parent. And he wouldn't change a thing. I hope learning a bit more about David's mother in two chapters will satisfy you until she comes on. And she is coming. We are actually already in the arc that she will appear in. Thank you Grandmaster-Kayla for reviewing. Dang, I like being weird! :D Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. I hope it never happens to you too. I wish our society would just get past race. Race doesn't make a person less. Why is that so hard for people to accept? And I have a feeling I am preaching to the choir here.**

 **Happy Thanksgiving!**


	9. Moving Forward?

**RUHLSAR000 Here! And we have a quite chapter than last week. I know, I know, but you'd all be** **bothering idiots if I didn't give you a break from the feels. Beyond that, I wished to show some Ezra growing and developing friends and important relationship beyond the Ghost Crew. Any who. I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED A REFERENCE TO MICKEY MOUSE'S BIRTHDAY! I apologize for errors, delays, and long winded author's notes.**

A woman comes into the diner, soaked to the bone. Between the nerves radiating off the Force and the way her fingers twitched, it is clear she is nervous about something. She walks up to the counter, ringing out her short hair. "Excuse me, but could I borrow your comm. I forgot mine and my hover broke down about two klicks down the road."

"Well, that's awful luck. The town mechanic is off world at the moment." I inform her, as I stop wiping the counter.

"Oh, that's perfect, I am already late for my meeting." The woman groans.

"I could take a look for you. I'm pretty good with them." I offer, tossing the towel over my shoulder.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly impose. After all, I'm sure your busy." She sighs, no doubt wonder how get out of this mess.

"I'm actually about to go on my break. Really it's no trouble." I insist, pulling out my comm. "Why don't you call your boss while I finish up one last order.

She bites her lip, clearly weighing her options. "If your sure."

"Great." I hand over my comm. As I turn and poor a cup of coffee into a travel cup, snapping on the lid, I call out to my sixty year old manager. "Mari, I am going on my break." Mari already has that way-to-interested-grandmother look in her eyes, as she shoots me to thumbs up and mouths _Go for it_. It would be best to get out of her, fast. I grab my coat a coat rack by the window to the kitchen and exit into the main part of the diner. "Ready to go?"

"Don't you need to deliver the kaff?" She quirks an eyebrow, handing me back my comm.

I hold out the cup to her. "For you, on the house. You look like you need it."

"If your sure." The woman nods, rolling her eyes. "Thank you."

We quickly make their way to the hover in question. "Can you wait in the car and start it when I ask?" I ask.

"Yes, thank you." She says, getting in the car.

I pop the hood. "Can you start it up?" The woman responds by turning on the hover, causing it to make a half revving noise before rattling and choking take over. I check several connections, carefully as Hera taught him. "Cut it." She turns it off. I push several wires further into their connection, making sure none have pop loose. "Try again." The car makes the same noise. "Nope." I sigh, as the woman turns off the hover. I run my hands over the engine, carefully check for lose connections and other errors.

"Ah!" I say, feeling a lid of a chamber broken. Carefully, I remove the lid, or half a lid. I then pulls out the other half and a rock from the inner chamber. "Got any duck tape?"

"Yeah, hold on." The woman says. After a moment of shuffling, she slides out of the hover. She walks over me, handing it off.

"Thanks." I swap the pieces and rock for the tape and rip a piece off. Handing the roll back and taking the cap, I start taping the cap together. Then I use another piece of tape to cape it down. "I think that should do. Your left compression chamber's cap got wrecked by a rock. That should hold for a while, but I would recommend finding a mechanic in Tola, as soon as possible. It's a simple fix. Shouldn't cost more than a hundred and fifty credits."

"Thank you so much." The woman smiles, opening her purse and starting to pull out some credits. "I never know anything when I get to the mechanic."

"No problem. It's fine, I don't want any money. All I did was tape something together." I smile, pulling off hair sticking to my face. It's funny. In that moment, I am hit with how much I have changed since I was some fourteen year old punt. That me wouldn't have thought twice about taking her money. Granted, I was trying to survive. "Now, I think you need to head off. Something about a meeting."

"Right. At least let me drive you back to the diner." She says.

"Oh, I'm fine." I wave off the offer.

"I insist." She says, in the same tone as Hera. I am not winning this. It takes about three minutes to get back to the diner and we part with a final exchange of thank yous.

I walk back into the almost deserted diner as the morning rush had hit two hours ago and the lunch rush isn't going to happen for at least another hour.. My Mari smirks, "So, you get a date?"

"No, Mari. I was just helping her with her car." I wave off the comment. "Besides I think I might have PTSD from my last relationship. Don't want to put that on someone."

"Right." She rolls her eyes, her voice in the _yeah-right_ voice. "Clean up and dry off before reporting back onto shift. You're filthy." She tosses a towel at my head.

"Seriously, Mari. There is nothing there. What could she see in a guy like me?" I take out my ponytail and start drying off.

She arches an eyebrow."Maybe she likes your butt." Mari says. "The rest of you ain't bad either."

"Har Har." I roll my eyes.

 **Thank You Time! Thank you SonYukiGoku'sSister for following and favoriting. Thank you LordSkyjacker for reviewing. Why do I have the gut reaction that your weird Thanksgiving involved either politic or** **religion? Hope everything has cooled off. Sarcasm is no issue I love sarcasm. Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. You can very much get an Amen. I do not give a (insert swear word of your choose, I am going with kriff) about race. So much so that I really don't know any race stereotypes because judgement by race means nothing to me. I just don't see race when I look at someone, I see a person. Admittedly, this has caused some trouble when I can't tell someone's race, at all. I am exceedingly curious about the misunderstanding it caused with you and your friend, but if you don't want to talk about its fine. Random topic generator spin! I got my MLP obsessed sibling an action figure of Nightmare Moon for Christmas. Don't tell him. Thank you Casstrum93 for reviewing. Given the fact that I just watched a video on bad things that happen on Black Friday, I feel compelled to ask... hm(clears throat)... DID YOU SURVIVE?! As for the rest of you review, well, we'll just have to see. Thank You HiddenJade Bluerose for reviewing. How do I keep causing my readers to split into inner fangirl and normal? How is the inner fangirl the calm one? Well, at least I didn't cause super emotion roller coaster this time.**


	10. How to Say the Unsayable?

**RUHLSAR000 Here! And you can thank Midnight Luna for this early chapter. She sounded like she need pick me up. I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! IT BELONGS TO THE COMPANY THAT DOES NOT HAVE A PROBLEM KILLING CHARACTER OFF! I apologize for error, delays and long winded Author's notes i.e. not this chapter.**

Karablast. I wonder if he got his devious mind from his mother or myself. I look at my son, a slightly smug spark in his eyes, one of the few physical trait he got from me. Definitely his mother. But he, at least, got my morals and I can't believe I am grateful for that given all the poodoo I pulled when I was young. I lift my napkin from my lap and wipe my mouth. Everyone's eyes are on me as they all stop eating. Of course, they do. They are all curious. They just don't know how to ask and how sensitive the issue is.

My son planned this well. There is no way I can change the subject, not with everyone here. Heck, even Ketsu is here.

"Um… Excuse me, I need a moment." I excuse myself, heading to the bathroom. I fool no one with that exit.

I wash face before looking at myself in the mirror. Donny probably was the worst choice of my youth and given the selection that is saying something. How do you tell a kid his mother was a someone who saying, "go to the nut house, you need help," is an honest suggestion and not an insult? Or that she was emotional and physically manipulative that put all the Dark Side users he has met to shame? Or that she never cared about him and only had him to further manipulate the father? And even then she left within hours of his birth? How do you tell a kid he is the prod-

I slip, unable to focus on using the Force to keep me up. I catch myself on the toilet, but still beam myself in the head. "Ezra!" Kanan yells, rushing to my side.

"I'm fine." I say pushing myself up. "Just a momentary lapse of focus."

Kanan looks at me worried. "Hera! Could you bring the wheelchair?" I wish I could protest.

"Yeah!" Hera's worried voice echoes to us.

"Everything okay?" Kanan asks, hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah… No… Kanan, I promised I'd be honest with my past to David. But his mother… she… she wasn't a good person… At all." I sigh. "How do I tell a kid that?"

"She had to have some good in her for you to fall in love with her." Kanan says.

"Again, not that simple… I don't doubt she in her own way did love me. But, she wasn't an easy person to be loved by." I sigh, as Hera wheels in my wheel chair. The conversation is silenced as Kanan helps me into the wheel chair.

I sigh, wheeling into the main room. "Hey, David?"

David perks up from the couch. I must have been in the bathroom longer than I thought… "Father?" David rushes over and hugs me. With a smile, I return it. David pulls back. "I'm sorry I upset you."

I sigh, taking his hands. I can't say he didn't, he'd know immediately. "Your mother… She… She's a bounty hunter, like Ketsu. You managed to get all of her good traits, her wit, her charm, her ability to play any situation to her advantage. You got her hair and her nose. I see the reasons I care about her in you."

"What… How did you meet her?" David asks.

"We were young. Very young. She pick pocketed me and I didn't have a lot then so I chased her." I say with a smile. That was one of my happy memories of her. But it is still hard to talk about it. "Eventually, she let me practice pickpocketing on her."

 **Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. For some reason you reminded me to be thankful I went to on of the best public High Schools in my state that also happens to be very** **liberal. Can't imagine why. We weren't as diverse as some other place but no one judge anyone for there skin and if it they did the teachers would have something to say about it. And, unless you were swearing at them, I really don't think the teachers would have cared if you talked negatively, especially if it was justified. Now, if only I could improve their special ed program. The fact that that is also one of the best in the state disturbs me greatly. I am going to stop there because this is my rant topic. Hey, Inner Fangirl, how you doing? You were very quite. Yes I got him a Midnight Luna- Wait how did you- Oh, crud, I use "him" last time. There goes me trying to keep his privacy. Whoops.**

 **Thank you Casstrum93 for reviewing. Yes, she is going to come back. I have to be careful with the girlfriend thing. Ezra is this fandom's bae and as such not everyone likes him being paired off, especially to an OC. I think that is what happened with Isolda. The compressed time of I Don't Blame You doesn't help. However, I wanted to show Ezra living his life and love is apart of that. And as stated in this chapter, his most promenade past relationship wasn't good and I'd definitely say it wasn't healthy for either involved. So Ezra has to learn to trust that way again.**


	11. Skin You're In

**Yo! I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! Hail Mickey! I apologize for errors, delays, and long winded author's notes.**

Something is off in the Force. Not mega universe shatter, though. The First Order saw to that, weekly. No, this is closer to home. I close my eyes slipping into meditation to see if I could figure it out. After a moment or after an hour, pain hisses through me. "Aibek!" I fling myself up, with the Force. I some how find myself in the kids' bathroom.

Aibek jumps away from the mirror. "Uncle! Are you… Are you floating?"

I glance down. "So I am. Honestly, there's not that much difference to me anymore." I lower myself. "Care to tell me why you just broadcast pain through the Force."

"I just bumped my lekku." Aibek says, biting his lip.

"Let me see." I say, concerned the lekku are very sensitive and head bumps can be nasty. Especially, if it is the upper part that contains the brain.

"No, I fine." Aibek backs up.

"Aibek." I say, leaving no room. Something is definitely not right.

He sighs, walking over and turning to the side. I raise an eyebrow, glancing around his head. "Okay no bump, but I must ask, why is your lekku covered in permanent maker?"Aibek grumbles. "Didn't quite catch that."

"So the stupid kids at school stop calling me 'pink girly boy'." Aibek yells, near tears.

And here comes the migraine. I guess the Bogan isn't completely gone from me, cause the desire to go scare those kids within an inch of their lives runs very strongly. Instead, I hug my nephew, lowering myself to look him in the eye. "Aebik, do you think you grandfather is a 'pink girly boy'?" I ask.

"No," Aebik says.

"Good, because he's not. What color is he?" I ask.

"Pink." Aibek says.

"Now, do you like the way you are?" I ask.

"Yeah, but-" Aibek starts.

I don't let him finish. "But nothing. Aibek, people will always say mean things. Not everyone. But the idoits of the galaxy will always be there. And you want to know something else? Their words can hurt. But you decide how much. Is being friends with these kids really that important?"

"I'm not friends with them!" Aibek protests, angerly.

"Then do they know you? How awesome you are?" I ask. "I'm going to answer that. No, they don't. But they do know one thing. That they can make you mad by teasing you. That they feel like they can win their stupid game by making that happen."

"So, how do I win?" Aibek asks.

"By not loosing. They can't win if they don't get a reaction out of you. And if it gets too much, tell a teacher. If the teacher can't do anything, come talk to Dad, Mom, or me, cause we will do something. But, covering up something that is apart of you, that just lets them win and they will find something else to pick on, then."

Aibek nods, and I feel sadness radiate off him. "Want to watch a movie? You can pick." Aibek smiles a little and nods.

 **Thank You Time! IE Time to double the length of the chapter without adding anything to the story. Thank you Jaeghon Dekimis and Farrel 101 fanfic for following. Thank you robloxian2456 for following and Favoriting. Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. Believe it or not, but I had this written a whole month and a half before our conversation on race. Hope tech week was good. Sounds like your play is coming along. Thank you LordSkyjacker for reviewing. You should know better than to bring up religion or politics at any family gathering or you spend your evening muffling your scream of frustration in the pecan pie. But hey did you like the last chapter? Thank you Gummybear1178 for reviewing. Hope you liked this chapter too. Thank you Grandmaster-Kayla for reviewing. Thank you for flaming the flames of my ego. I am the master of OC. You shall all bow down with love to them. But seriously thank you. I not that good and it really means a lot to me to hear people like my characters. Thank you Jaeghon Dekimis for reviewing. I don't think love is irrational. I think it is very rational. You like someone because their positives to you out weigh their negatives. And as your own desire for those positives and negative change, so does who you like. That's why I hate rival/enemy ships. They feel so forced and fake and not how love works.**


	12. Heros and Villians

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Sorry its late. Finals finished up Wednesday and I konked on** **Thursday, taking a nice long nap after my week long adrenaline high. So, yeah. Has anyone else noticed that all the characters from Lothal all have very bright blue eyes? The one exception being Jai Kell and I think that might be because his family hadn't been there for long. But yeah, blue eyes definiately are dominate among native humans. I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! IF I DID YOU WOULD SEE THESE STORIES THERE. DUH!** **:)**

* * *

214th Annual Young Writer's Contest

Ages 8-10 Writing Prompt:

In under 500 words, either **A)** Explain what it means to be a hero to you. If you take this option, also explain what makes a hero different than the average person. **B)** Give an example of your own personal hero and why they are your hero. It can be anyone you know, whether it is a parent, a sibling or some other family or friend. Or it can be someone you idealize.

* * *

It's funny how little we can think of our actions and how they affect others. One child can say something and it can lead to another child in tears. Or one man can think he is being a good person while causing pain to another. But it can also go the other way, a few words of comfort can turn into a life long bond. No one knows this better than my hero, my biological father, Ezra Bridger.

I know he's had a hard past. He doesn't hide it, hoping to help other not to make the same mistakes as he did. But the man with the dark past isn't what I see everyday. I see a man who loves his family more that life. I see someone who, even though he has a migraine and is about to fall asleep, will still get down on the ground to play dolls with his niece, or cars with his nephew. I see someone who smiles easily despite his pain, so others can do the same.

Father says I am already so much better than him. We'll find out when I am facing my first hurtle. Father has face hurtle after hurtle, and even has fallen. But, he has taught me, the real strength isn't never falling, but rising up after. Not through words but by actions. And each incredible thing he has done, he brushes them off like they are nothing, like anyone would do it. But, I don't think they would. I don't think anyone can become a founding member of the Rebel Alliance. I don't think anyone could always put others first. I don't think anyone can truly regret their missteps and mistakes and then do something to make it right.

My father has given up so much for me to be who I am today, no matter how much it hurt him. He has sacrificed his own happiness to see those he cares about happy. He works hard each day to be better and to make the galaxy better, no matter how small the action is. And that is why he is my hero. I am so proud to call him my Father which it why, as of this month, I have change my name to David Caleb Jarrus-Bridger.

* * *

 _"With the First Order's encroachment the Doanls System, tension between the New Republic and the First Order have reach a new high. The likely cause of this encroachment is that a small moon in the system, Doal, has recently been revealed to have minerals vital to the production of durasteel."_ The pretty red twi'lek says on the holonet feed, flickering the connection strengthens and weakens. The symbol of a small news organization stationed around and on Lothal spins in the corner.

 _"In brighter news, this week, a father, who do to personal reasons, was forced to give up his son to two of his friends eight years ago, received some very happy news."_

A clip plays of a young man with black hair and eyes so blue that they glow in the poor quality holonet video, surrounded by the blurred out faces of his family. Those eyes are a very striking shade of Lothal blue, indicating to anyone watching the news where the man hailed from, even if they don't recognize him. Though the chances of anyone from Lothal old enough to remember the Rebellion not recognizing him is slime at best. " _'My father has given up... so much for me to be who I am today, no matter how much it hurt him..."_ The man takes a moment to breath even though it is clear he has long since failed to not cry. " _He has sacrificed his own happiness to see those he cares about happy. He works hard each day to be- be better and to make the galaxy better... no matter how small the action is. And that is why he is my hero."_ The man takes a moment rubbing away tears from his eye. _"I am so proud to call him my father which it why, as of this month, I have change my name'- By the First Light!" The man drops his hand holding the datapad, clearly failing to hold back tears. "Are you serious?"_ His head goes between a blurred out man and a little boy who looks nothing like him except for those glowing Lothal blue eyes, as he walks in circles trying to process what he just read.

 _"And we're sharing guardian rights too."_ The blurred out man next to him says.

 _"You're kidding me?!" The man wipes his eyes. Then he scoops up a little boy into his arms and spins him around before getting tackled into a hug by his entire family._

The anchor smiles _, "While the Family, who has strong ties to Lothal, wished to remain anonymous, they have released this statement: 'While [the father] had to give up his parental rights, he has never failed to go to every event in his son's life and, since reuniting with his family, has been making up for lost time, being unwaveringly there for not only his son but his friends' children as well. Which is why his son choose to add on his father's name to his and for the child's adoptive parents to share custody of the boy.'_

 _"I know I am not the only one here who wishes them the best. The son was writing the essay for the 214_ _th_ _Annual Young Writer's Contest in the Melliun Quadrent. What a great way to tell him."_ She shuffles some of her notes, before a smidgen of weariness comes to her face. _"Sadly, not all family can be this happy. A mud slide occurred on the planet, Kathol in the Lothal System, causing hundreds to be left homeless."_

A woman flicks her blaster closed as she finishes cleaning it. She stands and rewinds the news, settling on the father and son hugging. "Found you, Ezra Bridger." She says, flicking back the front portion of her blonde limp mohac.

* * *

 **Thank You Time! Thank you Turtle-Tastic3000 for following. Thank you Casstrum93 for review. Glad to be a distraction. That sounds intense. Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. Is there any rule that says you can't bug them during break? Cause I am sure they are missing you too. Thank you LordSkyjacker for** **reviewing. And the best part of screaming into pies, is that after you do it, no one wants a piece of that pie anymore for some reason. Thank you Guest for reviewing. Technically, all of Kanan and Hera's children are half human, half twi'lek (With the exception of David who is biologically Ezra's child). This means the have a mixture of features, like Fajr having ears instead of cones and them all having blotchy skin that is twi'lek coloring and human coloring. I am fairly certain that the redder tones are recessive for twi'leks, so Hera is carrying her father's genetics while her mother's dominate. This is why she passed on pink blotches to Aibek (which feature the stronger out of the three half-twi'leks) and green blotches to Fajr. Hope that answers your question. Thank you Jaeghon Dekimis for reviewing. I'm not saying love can't be a drug or that it can't be irrational to those looking in. In fact, there is a character in this story who is addicted to one person love in a strange and unhealthy way. I don't think you're talking nonsense. Everyone is entitled to their personal views.**

 **Question Time: Who do you think the mystery woman is? Do you think she will be important?**


	13. Kaff Break

**RUHLSAR000 Here! And no,** **David's mom does not appear in this chapter. It didn't fit anywhere else and it seemed like it fit here. Am I milking this? Wouldn't you? Okay. Rogue One! Well we know two Rebels characters survive to the Battle of Sarif though I don't know if the survive after. Did I need a spoiler alert for that?** **I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS!** **I apologize for errors, delays, and long-winded author's notes.**

"Then Donald tripped over his mess in front of a member of the Board." Nuha laughs. I smile, sipping my coffee. "Hey, you okay?"

"Huh… Yeah, sorry. Fajr and Kemen were both up late with a cold. And David had a big book report due today…." I yawn, my mind still half asleep.

"Who?" Nuha asks.

"Kemen and Fajr are my niece and nephew, sort of. And David is my son." I say with a shrug.

Nuha raises an eyebrow. "So, his mother…"

"Hm… Hera's great, loves him so much." I answer, drinking my coffee. Seriously, this is my fourth cup today. When is the caffeine suppose to kick in?

"So, how did you meet her?" Nuha sounds almost sad. Huh? Why is she up set? I study her more closely, but with my brain being as fuzzy as it is I know I am probably not going to figure it out.

"That's a long story. And I need to have more than two hours of sleep to do it justice. But the short version is accidently stowed away on her ship and join her rebel cell." I smile. Nuha takes a sip of her coffee. She's covering a frown. Why? And the migraine is coming on great… "Her and Kanan became like second parents to me. So, when I couldn't raise David, I knew they could."

"Oh! I thought- Never mind!" Nuha smiles, then frowns. Huh? "So, why couldn't you raise him?"

"I was in a dark place. It would have hurt him." I answer with a sigh.

Nuha takes my hand. "His mo- biological mother isn't in the picture?" Oh she was talking about his biological mother.

"No, thank the first light." I say. "Like I said, dark place. She hasn't left it, at least as far as I am aware."

"Father!" A shout comes from the door.

"David!" I smile, turning to the door and seeing Kanan, David and Aibek. "Let me guess. Hera decided kick you guys out for dinner." David and Aibek rush over to me tackling me into hugs or turning me into a jungle gym. I am not sure which.

"Yep," Kanan smiles, walking over to us. "And whose this?"

Nuha's eyebrows shoot up surprised he knows she's there. "I am Nuha. Ezra and I met when I was having hover trouble a few weeks back. And I found he makes the best diner kaff in the quadrant."

 **Okay I don't normally do this if the story is on another site but, go to archiveofourown and check out Spymaster by LiterallyThePresidenT (who would make a better president that our elect -.-) It is a really good rebels Rogue one** **fix that I wish could be canon.**

 **Thank You Time! Thank you TessaFred for following. Thank you Sparkle for reviewing. Thank you Guest for reviewing. Thank you rebekahtpe for reviewing. Yes, it was David's mother. Clearly I fooled no one for once. Though I am curious why people keep think they were/are married. Marriage is needed to make a kid. And honestly, I am going back and forth on whether they were married or not. One fits better with their characters, while the other can be bent to their character while adding conflict for Ezra now. So yeah, I'm swinging between the two. Thank you Casstrum93 for reviewing. You're talking about Mo. Mo is too nice to be David's mother. Mo will get brought up later though. She met a man named Jai Kell and had a son who is going to get evil eyes from the entire Ghost family when he starts dating Fajr. Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. Glad to illicit such a reaction. I literally started laughing when you swore in your review. And my perception of you as an innocent school kid was shattered. And I am not sad about it. Now, I need to go figure out why fan 's profanity filter isn't working.**

 **Merry Christmas to all and to all, Oh my gosh Rogue One was so good (It says something when I can still rave about a movie in a film series and it is actually in my lower have of the series)**

 **Question Time: 1)Rank all Star Wars Films.**

 **2) What's your favorite part of Christmas?**


	14. She's the Bomb

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Bye 2016 don't let the door hit you on the way out. So long. May 2017 be better. What's that? Oh, yeah. Donald Jackass Trump is becoming president. I may be moving to Japan soon... I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! IF I DID WE'D ALREADY HAVE A MOVIE! I apologize for errors delays and long author's notes.**

"Really? You guys know I spend my entire day here, right? And now I am eating here?" I roll my eyes, shifting further into the faux leather of the corner dinner both.

"Kids love it." Kanan smiles, his arm around his wife.

"And my discount really helps when taking four kids out to eat." I shake my head, smiling at the Hera and Kanan. They look sheepish but my smirk sets them at ease. Zeb and Sabine look ready to burst into laughter, the twins squeezed in between them. Aibek and Sabine color Aibek's kiddy menu with a large box of crayons he brought from home. Fajr, meanwhile, is tearing and folding a paper tooka like I had taught her last night.

The front door bell rings. A female with a hood obscuring her face comes in and goes to the counter alone, dropping her backpack onto the floor. There is something off about her…

"I want a cheeseburger with extra fries and a chocolate milkshake!" David exclaims from my right.

"Got it a burger and a serving of veggies." I say, smirking.

"No, Father! Fries!" David says, turning to face me, setting kids coloring menu down.

"Got it. Veggies." I say, again.

"This isn't funny, Father! Dad!" David says.

"I heard extra veggies too." Kanan says, taking a swig of his water, barely holding back the laugh.

"Pardon me." Mari says.

"Sorry Mari, could we get a few more minutes to decide." I smile at my boss.

"He's getting a veggie burger." Kemen points his thumb at me. I roll my eyes. Probably.

"You're to young to be sarcastic." I say, giving him a playful shove. He laughs and shoves me back.

"Actually, I know you're off work, but the woman on the counter is demanding to only speak with you." Mari says, tiredly. "Would you mind…"

I raise an eyebrow, odd. "Sure. Excuse me, Kemen." Kemen slides out so I can get up. I walk over to the woman, grabbing an order pad. "What can I get for you?" I smile, using my friendly waiter voice.

"I nearly kriffed myself when I found out you were working a nine-to-five and a family man now." She says, barely above a whisper. There is a sound of a pen hitting the floor a moment after I recognize the familiar voice. My throat clenches up like an allergic reaction and I can't breath. What? Why is she here? "Old watering hole, two days, 2300. And just to demonstrate a little of what will happen if you miss our appointment, there is a _gift_ in my bag. One you are familiar with. You have about two minutes. See you soon, love." She slides of her chair and walks out the door.

She's back…

"Father?" David's voice comes from somewhere, worry lacing it. David! The Bomb!

I kneel down fast, ripping the bag open. "Kanan, Hera, get everyone out of here! Mari, evacuate the building. Sabine! Get down here and help me deactivate this thing! NOW!" Sabine's eyes widen at the bomb, and she has jumped over the table before everyone can get up. The few customers at this time begin sprinting out

"It's a timer thermal detonator, class 4." Sabine breathes, pulling off the cover.

"Dammit, Louie! You heard the kid. Get your sorry keyster out of the kitchen. Then call the cops!" Mari calls, grabbing her purse.

"Can you deactivate it?" I ask quickly. "Father! Aunt Sabine!" David calls out as Kanan physically drags him out. "Uncle Ezra!" Kemen calls out from Zeb's shoulder. I see Hera caring the crying twins out. "I think ability doesn't matter right now. Hold that!" Sabine orders. I do as I am told. Thirty-two seconds. Sabine's hands move with unparrelled speed. But the clock- I move as directed. I'm not fast enough. Twenty-five. Neither is Sabine. Twenty. How is it time can seem to slow down and yet be so kriffing fast? Twelve. My heart is my ears. Nine. Eight. Seven. Si-

The clock freezes as Sabine clips one last wire. She then removes the detonation cap from the explosives for safety.

Adrenaline leaves my system as I collapse onto the wall under the counter. I smile at Sabine as she does the same, down to the smile. I reach out and hug her. I have one amazing sister.

 **Suggestion: Rogue Ghost by mistyblue418. You need to read it.**

 **Thank You Time! It's short this week. Thank you CloudyRaven for reviewing. I think Hera's reaction is going to be something along the lines of "Oh, you're dating my son. Hold on one moment." Hera calls in a few favors to get a complete background check. "So you graduated with a double major in coding and cultural practices of the Naboo, right?" And proceed to pull out her general demeanor and question her to an inch of her life. Zeb would absolutely tease them, Sabine too. But the moment Ezra's back is turned, they'd imply threats of what should happen if she breaks his heart. And then she'd turn to Kanan and says "Alright. What do you got?" And Kanan would just smile and offer her kaff, while saying, "Ezra's been through a lot. We don't want him to suffer anymore if we can help it."**

 **Thank you Midnight Luna for reviewing. Lol. I can't seem to find that fic sadly. But I am glad you think I'd rock it. I have no issue with swearing, though you may want to check the rating. LOL. And a happy new year! Wow, I really don't have much to say this week. That and it is almost midnight when I am writing this.**

 **In order(Fav to least, but I love them all):**

 **Force Awakens**

 **Return of the Jedi**

 **Revenge of The Sith**

 **Empire Strikes Back**

 **A New Hope**

 **Rogue One (Although should I compare it to the main series?)**

 **Phantom Menace**

 **Attack of the Clones**

 **Again I love them all. Heck Attack of the Clones was my favorite. And I still love Padme and Anakin.**

 **Question Time: Do you have a better title for this chapter? Cause I am not feeling She's the Bomb but I can't come up with anything else.**


	15. Explosions and Alcohol

**RUHLSAR000 here! First week of class is going great. For once I don't feel like my head is spinning. Anywho, you all know I don't own Star Wars Rebels by now. The Mouse is King. I apologize for errors, delays, and any other kriff.**

I check my chrono. 2330. She's trying to kriff with my mind. It's not like I don't know this trick. Heck, we pulled it on several less than savory people over the years. I check it again. 23:31 blinks up at me as if it was trying to mess with me. Breath. You cannot let this get to you. You cannot let her gain any leverage. Any more leverage. This isn't like when we were kids. David's life could be on the line. All their lives could be on the line here. I force myself to breathe and into a half meditative state, unwilling to look away from my bantha milk. I can't release all the angst away but it cuts the edge off. Frankly, I'd rather cut it with something else, but she's best to deal with her with a clear head.

"Since when are you a teetotaler?" Donny's voice comes from my left, my weaker side, as the barstool screeches across the floor. "Flameout. Extra tall, extra dry." Since I left you. It's true. And I would have said it for a long time before and after we separated. But I'm not that person anymore. I'm not that engulfed in cold.

Our relationship wasn't healthy. Even when we were kids. "You've taken to adding more spice to your drinks" I note.

"And this concerns you, why?" She raises an eyebrow, as the blue-green drink is set down beside her, blood red specks spiraling through the liquid. That's way too much spice.

"Because, as completely kriffed up as it is, you are my friend. Always have been, always will be." I admit with a sigh.

"I can tell there's an unfortunately mixed in there, after all it took to find you." She tosses back another gulp to big for her small frame.

"You have to admit our relationship was… detrimental to the both of us." I say, as much as it pained me to admit.

"Using fancy words to make yourself feel smarter than you are." She growls, glaring at me.

Her frequently used words don't hurt as much as it used to. Whether it's because the immunity I built up over the years of our partnership lasted our separation or because I know it isn't true now, I can't say. "Donny, you aren't well. You are a sociopath with a dependency disorder and probably psychopathic tendencies, as well. You are addicted to extreme emotions because you rarely get them. And I was incapable of dealing with it. My coldness during my time on the Dark Side negatively impacted you. And you… You manipulated me. You hurt me. I still have the scars…"

"I thought you liked the scars." She smirks, leaning back and crossing her legs. Karablast! She is in that short black dress I used to love and, with a sniff, I can confirm she is wearing many aphrodisiacs. I focus on the Force, letting it give me strength. I push away my drink, not trusting her.

"You dropped a Sith Temple on my head."

"You survived." She shrugs it off as if it was no big deal. "And then you put a lightsaber to my neck."

"I'll admit I shouldn't have done that, but I never intended to use it," I say as much to myself as her.

"No, you wanted too. But you didn't." She smirks, taking another sip. "Now, why is that?"

"Then? Because if I consider someone family once, I will always do what I can to protect them. Now, though, its cause you're a person."

"That didn't protect Ferpil." She growls. I close my eyes. It wasn't my fault, but it hurts. "Sorry. That was uncalled for. Won't happen again." She says. She always says that.

"After every mean comment, degrading snap and every slap and hit you have said that. It's not good enough. It's never been good enough. And I was a fool to think it was. That no one else would every accept me." I take a calming breath. "I don't want to threaten you, Donny, but if you continue to threaten those I care about, I will expose your double dealings to both the Republic and First Order."

She opens her mouth to call a bluff that isn't there. She stops as she sees that. Instead, she readjusts, I can see the cogs turning. "So you'd prevent me from seeing my son…"

"Don't start, Donny. You don't care about David. I have your note from when you abandoned us and evidence of you setting off a bomb in the same building. Any custody court will have a field day with your case. And we both know David is only a pawn to you, to control me. He has always been that to you."

She glares at me. "You were more fun with yellow eyes. At least, you didn't hide your true self behind sweet words. Those people will never know that part of you, the liar, the thief, the killer. Is that why you stay with them, to let yourself play the hero for them and for our son? Well, you'll never be a hero. You are scum. You always have been. Like me, and that will never change. After all, we are cut from the same piece frackled rag that the galaxy decided to kriff on." She slams down her drink so hard that I am surprised the glass didn't shatter. "Comm me when you get a reality check, Laserbrain." She slams back the chair and storms out.

I sigh, "I'm going to have to cover her drink, aren't I?"

"Nope." A familiar voice comes from my right.

I jump and face her. "Ketsu. What brings you here?"

"My sister's family gets too close to an unprovoked bomb. I want to know why." Ketsu says. "Especially when a member of the Black Suns gets involved." Really? She's involved with them. I fight to keep the swear word off my tongue.

"How much of that did you hear?" I sigh, fingering my drink.

"I was here before you got here. You must have been pretty out of it not to notice me." Ketsu says. "She laced your drink."

I sigh, pushing it away. Like that wasn't obvious. "Ask."

Ketsu nods, "So, Donna Troy? How'd you get involved with that piece of work?"

"We had the same pickpocket teacher, Ferpil. He… died in my arms, after a deal gone bad. She blamed me. And we had our second falling out. Then we met up again when I was eighteen and yellow eyes were all the rage. I needed a guide, she had knowledge of the area. I could get passed the traps. It was a business partnership with benefits, I guess. I never loved her that way and I don't think she loved me. I don't think we were capable of love, then. I was cold and emotionally distant. She was…. She was abusive."

"Yeah, from what I heard that's pretty obvious. Can I get a beer?" Ketsu says.

"Blue Tonic," I order, despite wanting something stronger. "We eventually had another falling out." I continue. Ketsu's beer arrives quickly. "She got desperate, did desperate things. Just don't ask. It wasn't pretty.

Ketsu sets down her beer, before even having sipped it. "Hey, I think I need something stronger," Ketsu shouts to the bartender.

"That's probably for the best. The beer here tastes like bantha piss." I say.

"And add Spice Liquor to his Blue Tonic" Ketsu yells to the bartender.

"I don't want a Reactor Core." I groan with an eye roll.

"You need a Reactor Core," Ketsu says.

"No, I don't." I protest.

"Yeah, you do," Ketsu says. "Kriff. I need one and I didn't even participate."

The drink is slid in front of me. "Yeah, you do, Kid." The old bartender says rolling his eyes. "This one's on the house. Quite frankly I don't know how you handled her sober."

"Handling her drunk is worse." I sigh, taking the drink.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Ketsu asks. "So she's David's mother?"

"She bore him. I think, 'mother' is a stretch." I comment. "Please don't tell David."

"It's your business." Ketsu sighs, "Did you hear about the new Star Destroyers the First Order is making?"

 **And with that Ketsu and Ezra are officially drinking buddies.**

 **Thank You Time! Thank you IsisWard1 for following. Thank you, Midnight Luna, for reviewing. What did they delete? Oh, have you seen the new trailer? We now know what's happening in the season finale. Thank you CloudyRaven for reviewing. Ezra and Donna's relationship isn't as simple as people seem to want it to be. It isn't a simple matter of loving one another. Donna loves Ezra, but she isn't good with love and it has hurt Ezra. Ezra has moved on completely. He cares for her, but doesn't love her and honestly doubts that it ever was romantic love on his part. I hope I conveyed that. I also think you meant prequel trilogy in your review, instead of original. And I agree with you. Personally, I find the villains you can sympathize with far more compelling and even at times scary because it can cause you to question your own morality. I also liked how the prequels made everything grey. I love the originals but there is no denying that the were pretty black and white.**


	16. A Dream

**RUHLSAR00 Here! A week late... I'm not going lie. I forgot. Not you guys! I starteded editing this piece but a coding assignment was due Friday the extended to Saturday and anyone who codes knows it that it takes a day to code and another three days debug and figure out where you're going wrong. So sorry about that. But I can't make any promises that it won't happens today. I apologize for errors, delays and long winded author's notes. You all know my status on owning anything Star Wars, unless it comes on a shirt and the like it isn't happening. Support the official release. Cause if you don't, they'll be less viewer and the show will get canceled.**

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I am standing in my beat up rust bucket of a ship. Didn't I sell it when… When… Why would I sell it?

Crying pierces the hall.

Caleb! Donny would…n't do anything. And if she were annoyed, would she do something? I rush through the halls to the bedroom were the bassinette room is void of the other inhabitant, but I really don't care about that. I sigh in relief, walking over to him and picking him up. He is so tiny, too tiny. He came too early, but he is here and alive.

He settles quickly. He is so good. I'll have to talk to Donny about calling him Caleb, but I don't think she'll care. He reaches out his hand, with a tired yawn. I sit on the edge of the bed, careful of the blood. I hold out my pinky. He grips it, with a gummy smile. He yawns, again. "It's okay. You can sleep. Daddy won't let anything happen to you. Not now. Not ever." I send soothing waves to me. Daddy? It boggles my mind that I can touch, hold something, someone, this incredible, this perfect, much less that I had a hand in his creation.

Caleb… It isn't quite right. Why?

He yawns before dozing off. Now, where is Donny? I told her she shouldn't be up yet.

Looking up, I notice a recording device beeping red like it had a message. I hit play. Each word slams into to me with the sheer cruelness of them. I am ashamed to say my heart hurt at it. I thought I was completely over her when she dropped a Sith Temple and, well, worse...

This is for the best. I can finally move on. My son deserved better than an abusive mother. I look up into the mirror and freeze at the sight of my golden eyes, the eyes that every Force wielder either fears or embraces. I don't know where I lie in that anymore… My son deserves better than a dark side father. The ground disappears from under me as my son vanishes from my arms.

As I land, chains wrap around my arms. David appears before me in a mist as red as blood. "You're A COWARD!" He shouts at me with nothing but hate in his eyes. The innocence that existed when I held him as a baby is gone. I did this… "You're a weakling who couldn't protect anyone!"

This is a dream.

"Did you even try? Was I not worth it?" David's voice rings

"You deserved more," I whisper. This is a dream.

"That's the only thing you were ever right about." David snarls at me. A viroblade is raised behind him and lowered before I can scream.

I am in my bed. At home. I lever myself into my wheelchair. Chopper is safe and charging. I roll to the wheelchair and activate the hover ability to take me up the stairs. I quietly pop my head into the master bedroom. Kanan is sleeping peaceful, arms wrapped around Hera. I roll down the hall to the twin's room. Fajr's arm is hanging over the edge of the bed her favorite stuffed animal on the ground. As toys are scattered across the floor, I reach out with the Force and put it back on the bed next to her head. Aibek had kicked off his blankets and is now shivering. I pull them back up with a fond smile.

I roll into Kemen and David's room. Kemen is sleeping peacefully in the top bunk. I roll over to David, his old tooka doll in his arms. He is safe. I brush some of his hair out of his face. Is this a dream?

He groans, blinking awake. Oops. "…Father?'

"Sorry. Just wanted to make sure you were all right. Go back to sleep." I say.

He half asleep reaches out and takes my hand. "Lov' you, Father."

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 **Hello? Is anyone alive? Or have you died in the wake of David's cuteness? Anyway, Thank You Time! Thank you IsisWard1 for following. Love the name. Thank you Casstrum93 for reviewing. I'm not really sure what to say to that. Can you be more specific? What really stunned you about the last chapter? Honestly, I jammed that chapter with so much that I can't really pinpoint anything, which is fairly impressive given its length. Thank you CloudyRaven for reviewing. Honestly, Donny isn't going to do much. Her character... She doesn't care about David. But she, in her own twisted way, does care about Ezra. David was a tool to her for keeping his father from leaving. And while she does want Ezra to herself, she also has very strong self-preservation and self-interest instincts, and those are currently screaming at her not to get arrested. So she may pop up, again. Honestly, I've toyed with it so much, but I want her to be someone that reflects the cruelness of some parents and the more I write her the more I have to fight giving her a redemption arc. So she will be used sparingly. Thank you, Midnight Luna for reviewing. As for panic attacks, you have my sympathies I don't get them before tests. No, I get them when I think of admin. I'm at a top tiered Univesity. You'd think they'd have a better admin, but no. And I'm still fighting of mild anxiety attack leftover from their sheer stupidity a few years back. So, yeah. My life. Thank you Guest for reviewing. No truer words have been spoken, now if only I could read them.**


	17. Moving Forward, Officially

**RUHLSAR000 Here! And I a glad the Donna Troy arc is almost over. Back to fluff. This arc seriously made me consider bumping up the rating. What do you think? Does it need to be bumped? I apologize for error, delays and long Author's notes. If you think I own Rebels, you must be delusional. For now.**

I kiss her temple with a happiness I haven't allowed myself in a long time, if ever, the happiness that comes from a romantic love. Nuha smiles as we sit on the couch with everyone out, but there is something, not sadness, not confusion, not anything I can identify. "What is it?" I ask, worried. What if she has figured out how worthless I am?

"It's just… What are we? Are we together? We haven't really been on anything we've called a date, but in a way we have…" She turns to me, biting her lip.

"Do we have to be anything?" I shrug, with a smile.

"No, but it would give me a heads up into where we are going and keeps us roughly on the same page." She says, arching an eyebrow. "And it doesn't have to be an exact label. Just a vague 'we're in this category' type."

That is fair. Anyone else could give her that and more. I can see it in her eyes; she wants to know what she means to me. She means a lot to me, but I can't bring the words to my lips to confirm it.

She sighs, getting up. "I'll see you tomorrow." There's a finality in her words like if I let her walk out it will never be the same.

"The last time I was in a relationship, it didn't end well," I say. She pauses turning back to me. No turning back now... "It was good for a long time. Or as good as it could have been. But… She wasn't emotional stable… I was in no way able to help her… She would control me… Say mean things… And as pathetic as it sounds I believed them." Nuha sits next to me, squeezing my hand. "It's hard to deny things when they are said by people you care about… But I did eventually wise up after she dropped a Sith temple on my head." Nuha bites her lip worried and squeezes my hand tighter, as if afraid I'd disappear if she let go. "I tried to leave. But she…" No, I will not talk about what she did. No even to those I lo- care for deeply. That will stay with me to my grave. "She… was pregnant… with David. So I stayed." The words taste like a lie on my lips even if they weren't… from a certain point of view, anyway. Nuha gasps, as tears flow down her eyes. Did I let something slip? I focus on the story. "I married her so our child would be legitimate, as there are still places in this galaxy where that matters. She wasn't the marrying type but did it so it would be harder for me to escape her. Still, she left me and David fifteen minutes after he was born. She still on occasion tries to get me back. I finally managed to blackmail her into staying away, but…" I'm afraid… Afraid of what she'll do to my family. I look a Nuha. Afraid of what she'll do to someone as kind as Nuha.

Her eye shine like the same pale green of Lothal's grasslands, down to the slight changes as the wind plays with it, clashing as much with her tan skin tone as my own do. How this incredibly beautiful, incredibly smart, incredibly kind woman came to like me, I will never know. "Nuha, you are tied with Hera for the most incredible woman I have ever met. Every minute I spend with you makes me so happy. I want to be with you. But I am scared of commitment. I know, it is stupid, so kriffing clique. And it has nothing to do with you. You shouldn't have to put up with it.

"But, Nuha, there was no way out. And I don't want to be in that position again. Even though I don't see myself wanting a way out. It's irrational but it is there. It's not fair to you to have to put up with it. With damaged goods like me." My heart gives a squeeze as I admit the painful truth.

Nuha takes my chin and makes me face her. "You have every reason to be afraid. I can't imagine what you've been through. But I'm not her. And you know that. You want out, you can get out. I promise you. No matter how much it hurts me, you want out, I'll let you go. As far as that damage goods comment, so what if you are. I care about you, Ezra Bridger. And don't you forget it. You don't have to bare you scars alone. You never have. I'm just not going to let you forget."

"I never want to hurt you." I kiss her forehead. "I…" Is it too soon? We've only been about a year since we met and eight months since we really started spending together. I haven't even allowed myself to think it. But I can't resist whispering it as I look into her eyes. "I love you."

There's a twinkle in her eye as she leans forwards and kisses me on the mouth, with more passion than we have before. I open my mouth, as she explores it. She pulls back a little for air. I smile. "I know." She smirks.

"Does that mean you love me too?" I smirk.

"Guess." She says, kissing me again.

 **WHAT TIME IS IT? 9:38? No, it's THANK YOU TIME! Thank you 15859 for favoriting. Thank you, Midnight Luna, for reviewing. Well, given that I got redlined in third grade, everyone in my grade was younger than me, so check A. B sounds like my first and only roommate in college. C, yeah that was her. She was the only person I know who was all three B's, bully, brat and I'll let you guess the last one. I stuck around solely to shove it in her face that she couldn't get what she wanted by threatening me. So, yeah, I meet someone like that. My advice, don't let them get you down and don't let them affect you. Really there are only two things that can happen, either she grows up or she'll lose a lot of opportunities in life and not understand why. That may sound naive of me to think that. But people really don't like being around unpleasant people, so it will come back to them. The best thing you can do is find something you can do to make you feel better when they are around. I personally start humming Taylor Swift's "Mean" and that does wonders. And remember, classes do not last forever. She'll be out of your hair soon enough. And remember, you have a significant say in how much you enjoy your Drama class. From what I can tell you love drama a lot. Don't let this one girl wreck it for you. That was probably longer than you needed. Thank you Casstrum93 for reviewing. I think you are close, but add about two more bathrooms and the Ghost either on the roof or in a backyard hanger. I haven't thought about it X) Wow, I found one oversight. I suppose that isn't surprising. This fic was supposed to be a collection of one-shot updated randomly. As such, I was a little more forgiving with continuity. Low and behold that's not really what it became.**


	18. Nightmares That Scar

**RUHLSAR000 Here! And life is a pain. Nothing to do with my personal life, but politics are worrying right now with Darth Carrot in the White House. I apologize for errors, delays, and long-winded author's notes. I don't own Rebels. I think that would be obvious by now.**

I'm not supposed to be here, I think to myself as I look around the dark room. The only lights are red as if the walls are bleeding from past mistakes. The markings… This is a Sith temple. "So, what's next, love?" Donny's voice comes from beside me. Her voice warps around the "love" in a way the just feels sadistic.

I feel like stiffening but instead, I turn to her, easily and not of my own accord. She's young, no more than twenty. This isn't real. This already happened. "It should be close." My voice says, lacking any emotion.

"I still say we should just sell it." Donny rolls her eyes. "We could get enough credits to buy a fleet."

"We'd have the empire on our backs before we'd even line up a buyer. Besides, those secrets are mine. I won't have them used against me." I growl, frustration humming around my mind like a swarm of bees.

Donny glares at me. "You just being too much of an idiot to see what an opportunity this is. Or maybe you're hoping that if you manage to destroy these whatevers, that crew of yours will take you back."

No, they will never. The lie flashes through my mind like it had when I believed it to be true. She misinterprets my silence. "Unbelievable, you do." She grabs my face hard, her black nails digging into my skin. "They never will, love. They see you as nothing but a power hungry narcissist. They don't care about you. They threw you out. They'd be happy to never see you again. Best to move on."

The words pierce my heart as a sick feeling settles on me, knowing. My feelings from the time surface. I felt like I knew that was true. That they must surely hate me. That they had replaced me with that new son of theirs. Kemen… But it's not. It never was. "I know." I turn away, placing my hand on the wall as I turn the corner. But I see the last obstacle as I do.

Donny approaches and begins examining it. Something is off… about that approach. This temple was… older than the previous ones, a temple for something I didn't know at the time before becoming a Sith Temple. I glance around a see a small crack of clean light on the other side of the hall. I approach confusion washing over me. I turn to the mural, the lock I realize. It is a twenty meter scrambled version of the symbol of the Sith, with pillars further scrambling it. I smirk; the founder had been very different than other Sithes. This requires finesse as well as power. I reach out with the Force, twist columns, moving stones. When the mural forms the symbol, I pull it apart.

There it is sitting on a pedestal, all those fake promises. A Sith Holocron. Donny goes up and grabs it. It's coming. "Ezra…"

Donny steps back into the main area and I release the lock. And, of course, the ground begins to shake. Donny… Concern fills me immediately, despite knowing what is coming. "Ezra." The need to get her out fills me. The pain of electricity pulses through my veins. I collapse to the ground. "Sorry, love. But you know how it is. Or you knew. Money comes first. Hope you get out, love." She turns and leaves. The ceiling begins to collapse. Betrayal fills me once again. Pain beyond the physical fills me. The anger of the moment swarms around me, trying to return.

"Ezra!" I wake up gasping. Where am I? I need to get up. Clear your mind. Focus- "Ezra!" Nuha's voice cuts through my rant of trying to regain control of my legs. I turn my head to the source, as I am pulled into her arms. "You are safe." She whispers into my ears. "You are here. Surrounded by people who you love and loves you."

"Nuha," I gasp out, hugging her. One of us is shaking. It pretty obvious which, even if I can't tell.

"It was about David's mother wasn't it?"

"I-" I stammer only for the door to slam open.

"Uncle!" Kemen rushes in, flipping on the light. Nuha jumps, pulling the sheet up. Why? I push myself up higher onto the pillow, not bothering to pull myself up. I am going to head back to sleep soon, anyway. "I felt your fear in the Force. Are you alright?"

"It was just the nightmare, Kemen," I reassure.

"Are you sure Uncle?" Kemen asks.

"I'm sure," I reassure, letting the last fog of sleep clear from my mind and I realize the state I'm in. I glance at Nuha as I check to make sure everything is covered. She glances at me as if just realizing I am just realizing our state. That is probably the cutest O-M-G-You-Are-An-Idiot look I have received.

Kanan and Hera rush in. "Ezra!" Kanan calls out.

"Oh First Light. Is anyone else going to come in?" Nuha mumbles, under her breath.

"I'm fine, Kanan. Just a nightmare." I say, blushing furiously, double-checking that everything is covered.

"Are you sure?" Hera asks worriedly.

"I'm sure. And unless you want to answer some really uncomfortable questions at… 0300, I would suggest you leave." I say. The please is lacing my voice.

I can feel the "Oh kriff" feeling radiating off them. "Kemen, you have school tomorrow. Bed." Hera says, quickly.

Kemen looks at her, confused. "But, Mom-"

"Kemen Ezra Jarrus, bed," Hera says, taking his shoulder and all but pushing out of the rooms.

"Good night," Kanan says, sounding very tired, and leaves, closing the door behind him.

Nuha rolls over, onto my chest. "See? An abundance of people who love and care for you. Including me." She kisses my nose. I run my fingers through her hair, happy.

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, Eeveemew2, for following. What's your favorite eeveelution? Thank you, arranmore13, for favoriting and following. Thank you, Midnight Luna, for reviewing. Glad you like my long answers. I have the music of Hamilton running through my head, much to the pain of everyone around me cause I can sing at all. Could be worse for them, though. It could be "It's a Small World". I am one of the only people I know who doesn't get irritated by that song. So, what do you think of Nuha?**


	19. Dolls Belong in Dirt

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Sorry for last week's break. I had homework. Anyway, you all know I don't own Rebels by now. So let's go!**

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Fajr sits on the swing looking at the human fashion doll. Even if it was dressed as a "doctor" it was still primarily for fashion, as the pink pants would suggest. Now, I am not going to harp on the doll or the company. Fajr loves creating stories with her dolls, about adventure and treasure and scenes she learned in history class. I do want to harp on the girls at her school who try to be "grown up" and pretend fashion should be their main priority and make her feel like she is weird for not thinking like that. She's seven. Fashion shouldn't be a priority now, if ever.

"Hey," I say. "Mind if I sit here?" I gesture to the swing next to her.

"No." She shakes her head.

"So, how was school?" I ask, setting down my bag as I sit.

"Good." She says.

"You know, I almost didn't recognize you when you came home," I say.

"What?" She looks at me confused.

"You came home green, normally you're covered in dirt." I reach over and pat her head with a chuckle.

"Jody says playing in the dirt is gross," Fajr says, sounding a little more deflated.

"What do you say?" I ask her with a smile. "Cause the Fajr I know would say 'A little dirt never hurt anyone'."

Fajr rolls her eyes and gives me a look that she picked up from her mother. "She'd also say she's not good at making friends and these girls are willing to be friends with her."

"Well, if they're really you friends they'd respect your interests. If not they are worthy of your friendship." I say. Fajr shakes her head as if to say I don't know what I am talking about.

"Did you know I lost all my friends when I wasn't much older than you?" I ask.

"What?" Fajr looks at me.

"Yeah. My parents were arrested and I was left on the street. Only one, Mo, even looked at me after that and because she lived so far out I couldn't see her much. If a friend can't stand beside you, then they aren't really your friend." I take her hand, spinning to look directly at her. "You are amazing, Fajr. Don't every doubt that, cause, as cruel as it is to say, the world will. So, you have to remind them."

"I don't look like anyone at school, on the news, or anywhere else," Fajr says, sadly.

"You look like her." I pull out a doll out from my bag. The doll was made by a producer that specialized in making twi'lek dolls for twi'lek children that I met (saved his life) while on a mission for the Jedi Order a few months back. After telling him about my niece, I had been able to convince him to make a custom twi'lek-human doll. Fajr takes her into her hands. "I was saving her for your birthday but, I think she needs a friend. Think you can be that?"

Fajr nods, fingering the khakis, "What is her job?"

I smile, "She's an archeologist."

Fajr looks at me, confused. "What?"

"She digs in the dirt for historic things to learn about the past." I smile.

Her eyes widen as she stares at her new doll. "Wizard."

I smile, "Never forget who you are. Twi'lek and human. Stubborn and kind. Smart and curious. And I couldn't be prouder having you as a niece."

Her arms are around me. I return it without a second thought. "I love you, Uncle."

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 **Ah, I feel warm and fuzzy. And it's not cause I stocked up on half-price candy day. Thank You Time! Thank you, Alyssa Skywalker, for favoriting. Thank you, Lpfan030303, for favoriting and following. Thank you, Wikked Grin, for favoriting and reviewing. I am glad you like Nuha. Thank you, Casstrum93, for reviewing. I think Ezra knew his relationship with Donna was self-destructive but he rationalized that she still cared about her, and even more dangerously that he deserved it. And then there is the fact that our culture seems to, and very wrongly, believe that guys can't be the ones be abused in an abusive relationship. Ezra** **was, of course, absolutely wrong, he didn't deserve it. No one ever does. But that was his reasoning. Thank you, Midnight Luna, for your faithful reviews. I hope you're doing better. I guess I'll just have to include more Nuha. Thank you, LordSkyjacker, for reviewing. Hey, if I can listen to Taylor Swift while beating up a punching bag, you can run to Hamilton. You do you cause you rock. Thank you, Gummybear1178, for reviewing. I can't deside if you misspelt Kemen's name to be cute or if you just misspelt it, but yes I love Kemen's middle name, too. :)**


	20. Painting of a New Family

**RUHLSAR000 here! How are you all? Things may be a little crazy next week, so there may not be an update. There may, and I repeat MAY, be a chance of Ner Vod getting updated the week after as I finally found my notes for the next chapter and can hopefully get through my writer's block. You're high if you think I own Rebels. The last episode was so good!**

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"So, what are we going to do first?" David smiles, brightly, as we walk through the shopping center. "It's been a while since we've done anything together." David rushes five steps ahead of me. Translation: It's been a while since he hasn't had to share me with anyone. Which is true, but makes worry about the surprise slightly.

"David, it won't be just us," I say, fighting off the hesitancy in my voice. David turns to me confused and a little disappointed. Ah, karabast… "You remember Nuha, right?"

"The woman who sometimes has dinner with us?" David says, confused.

"Yeah, I asked her to join us," I say.

"Why?" David whines, disappointedly.

"Because she is important to me. And I'd like for other people who are important to me to know her." I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I do know her." He huffs.

"David, she's my girlfriend. She's going to be around a lot more. And I am going to be spending time with her. But we'd both like to share some of that time with you." I explain, being as upfront as I can. He always takes things better that way.

David sighs. "So, you and Nuha are like Mom and Dad…"

"Our relationship isn't that strong yet. But that is the direction it seems to be going." I sigh in relief. David knows how important Kanan and Hera are to each other.

"What if… What she decides she doesn't like me… Or Kemen… Or Mom and Dad… Or-" David asks quickly. "What if she makes you choose between us and her… And… And…. I don't want-" David cuts off but the words hang in the air. To lose you, again. You to leave. Be abandon. My arms circle around him and hold him tight.

"That's not going to happen. Ever. Nuha already likes everyone. Especially you. That's why she wants to get to know you better. Besides, you and I are a packaged deal, now and forever. Anyone in my life needs to be okay with you. And no one is going to take me away from you again." I pull back and hold out my necklace. David smiles, holding up his half. "I am never leaving you again, David. That's a promise."

David smiles and hugs me again. "Come on. Nuha is waiting. So, what are we doing anyway?" He releases me.

"She said something about a painting pottery." I smile, directing us around a corner. Nuha leans on a bronze bantha statue in the middle of the courtyard nose buried in a datapad. "Nuha!" I call out causing her to jump.

She turns to us smiles, walking towards us. She hugs me. "You're late." She huffs.

"Oh, like you could tell with your nose buried that deep in a story." I roll my eyes.

"There is a clock at the top of the screen." Nuha rolls her eyes, before turning to David. "Hey David, how are you doing today?"

"Um, good, Nuha…" David says, biting his lip, still uneasy. I put a hand on his shoulder and send him reassurance through the Force. "Should we get going?"

"Sure." I smile, as we walk around the corner to the bright yellow shop with a window filled with brightly colored mugs and plates.

"This place looks like Aunt Sabine's hair threw up on a piece of her early pieces of artwork. Aibek will be so jealous." David says, cheerfully, not realizing that someone could take that as an insult, rather than a complement.

"Yeah." I agree with the apt description.

"So, when am I going to meet this 'Sabine' I keep hearing about? And 'Zeb' too?" Nuha smiles as we enter.

"Soon, hopefully. It's been an insane year with all the stuff happening. They haven't been able to drag themselves from Mandalore and the Senate for more than a day or two at most." I shrug.

"Wait… Sabine? As in Sabine the Artist, Mand'a'lor?" Nuha eyebrows shoot up. "And Zeb's what? A senator?"

"Yep. Mand'a'lor Sabine Wren and Senator Garazeb Orrelios." I shrug.

"Ah, do I need to dress up to meet them?" Nuha asks.

"Yeah, you're most paint splattered T-shirt should do." David quirks. Glad he is back to normal.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to be extra messy today." Nuha shrugs with a mischievous smirk. "I'm more of a writer than a painter."

"Me too!" David smiles, before getting distracted by possible projects. "Ooo… Aibek is going to be so jealous." An employee approaches and gives us the basic speel, which is followed by David rushing off.

"David, don't break anything," I call after him.

Nuha smiles, "You're kids have you wrap around their fingers." I roll my eyes at her, shaking my head. "So, what are you going to paint? I've been needing a new kaff mug."

"I don't know I've never done this before." I look around, raising an eyebrow at a frog shape creamer. Who uses creamers anymore?

"Father! Can I do this one?" David calls pointing to a tooka the size of my fist. The price is reasonable.

"Sure." I smile. David carefully picks it up and sets it down at their table.

Nuha picks up a mug, "Why don't you pick a plate and have David put his hand print on it?" She sets it down and picks up another, feeling it in her hand.

"Why?" I ask.

She shrugs, "Keepsake? My parents did a hand impression with me when I was two. They sill have it on their mantle. It's weird to think I was that small. Heck, you both can put your hand prints on it."

I smile, picking up a dinner plate. "Why not." We sit down across from David in tables way to small. Fifteen minutes pass. "What do you think, Father?" David asks, with the critical aspect in his voice normally reserved for writing.

I move my focus from my yellow base coat. "That's a wonderful rainbow tooka," I say, barely holding back a chortle. I couldn't help it. Tookas look funny on their own and when this on looks like Sabine got hold of a cock-eyed one… I couldn't help it.

"You're laughing." David deadpans.

"No, I'm not," I reassure, with a smile.

David huffs, then smirks, flicking his wrist. Glaze from my paint dish flies onto my face.

"Now, you match," David smirks.

"David, you shouldn't use the F-" A finger touches my face.

"You were missing orange," Nuha smirks, holding up an orange fingertip.

I pick up a brush and flick her on the forehead with it. A small hand hits my other cheek. I turn back to David. "Really?" Nuha flicks me with a paintbrush. "Hey!" David pokes me with more paint. "No fair!" I tell both of them. And they both just smirk at each other before continue to try to paint me.

 **Thank You Time! I'm keeping this as short as I can cause I tripped and skinned up my hand. Itaiyo! Thank you Rebel21 for following. Thank you Wikked Grin for review. Glad you liked it. Thank you Casstrum93 for reviewing. It was so hard not to use the term barbie last chapter cause, yeah, I was a huge barbie girl growing up. I still have a box of my favorites that I will sometimes use to visually see how a scene will play out when I'm writing. Thank you Guest for review. Yes, Kemen is Force-sensitive. All children of a Force-sensitive are Force-sensitve in the EU and Legends and I try to draw from that. So yeah, Kemen, David, Fajr and Aibek are all Force-sensitive. I just don't go out of my way to show it because it is normal to them. It's appart of their daily life. But there are still rules about its use, as chaos would insue otherwise. Thank you Gummybear1178 for reviewing. No worries. It was cute. Thank you Midnight for reviewing. That's awesome. This chapter Papa Ezra for the win. Thank you Nyxn Shadows for reviewing. Love the pun! And no problem I look forward to seeing where your story goes. Thank you KassyRey13 for reviewing, twice. And binging the entire story.**


	21. The Master and The Apprentice

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Bad news, next week is shaping up to be massively busy and I am not going to be able to update. But you get this cute story about a boy and his uncle. You know the drill. I own nothing. I apologize for errors, delays, and long-winded author's notes.**

Kemen sighs, swinging slightly on the fort's swings, head encased in my old helmet, cut to allow his lekku to pop out the back. He's blocking out the world. And the cold. There's about an inch of snow on the ground. "Hey," I say, sitting next to him.

"I know, what you're going to say." Kemen sighs.

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow sitting on the swing next to him

"I kriffed up! Being a Jedi is my dream and I kriffing blew it!" He shouts. "I refused to let anyone, even Dad, be my master."

"Nah, I was going to says Zeb puked in there. Twice." I shrug. The helmet is off so fast that I am amazed his lekku weren't hurt. They may be smaller than the twins' lekku but still. "Really? Do you know how much I wear that?"

"I washed it out." I laugh. Kemen punches my shoulder. "So, you kriffed up?"

"Yeah," Kemen smacks his hands against his heads. "I am such an idiot. I should just go back and apologize and hope one of the knights takes me in."

"Okay." I shrug.

"I'll do it," Kemen says, getting up. "I'll call them right now."

"Then get to it." I roll my eyes, trying to suppress a smile.

"Why aren't you trying to stop me?" Kemen snaps.

"Why should I? It's what you want. Isn't it?" I shrug.

"It is. It's just-" Kemen growls out in frustration, collapsing back onto his swing. "Isn't there something you want to say?"

"Is there something you want to hear? Cause you seemed rather convinced." I smirk. "Cause I'm not going to waste my breath if there isn't."

Kemen sigh, pulling himself into a semi-meditative self-reflection. "I just… want someone to say the master-padawan bond is sacred, connecting two people for a lifetime, beyond a lifetime. The masters of the past are alive in the padawans of the future, brought together by the Force itself. That's why it can't be forced by anything else."

"You seem to have a better understanding than most Jedi currently have." I smile. "So why would you try to force it?"

"I shouldn't." Kemen sighs, swinging slightly.

"Yet, you were about to. The question is why." I say.

"I want to be a Jedi. I want to help continue Dad's legacy while helping the galaxy." Kemen sighs.

"First lesson." I swerve to face him. " Listen to the Force, specifically the Jedi's guide, the Ashla."

"It wasn't saying to be any of their padawans. No, it was saying NOT to be any of their padawans." He admits.

"And now?" I ask.

"I feel… I don't know… Every time I think about someone teaching me the ways of the Jedi… it's you… And you have been. You and Dad." Kemen rubs the back of his head.

I take his hand. "Here's another lesson. Close your eyes." He does so without question. "Focus on the way the Force swirls around use and our bond."

After a moment, his eye flutter open, stunned. "You? You're my master."

"If you'll have me." I nod.

"Did I not just say I already think of you as my teacher?" Kemen hugs me tight.

I return the hug then pull back to look at him. "Kemen. I need you understand that, though I have trained as a Jedi, I am a follower of the Bendu, not the Ashla. I cannot teach you how to be a traditional Jedi. Even if I only taught you of following the Ashla, you will be different from everyone else in the Order. And I, honestly, would probably put some Bendu in and I can't say I'll be good at teaching. But I will always do my best."

"Well, the Order could use more diversity in thought anyway. Besides it is the will of the Force." Kemen smiles and then pauses "One thing I don't understand is why did I have to meet the others like that if you already knew you were my Master?"

I sigh, resisting the urge rub my forehead. As sweet as Luke is, we really have to stop discussing the Force with each other. He just has too much of the Old Order in him. "Master Skywalker is… He is very wise and a natural Jedi, but he was mostly self-taught. He knew his first Master, Kenobi, for years, but he was only his padawan for a day and then he was Master Yoda's for only a few months. He cared about them, no doubt, but he never had the time to develop a deep master-padawan bond during his studies. He doesn't quite understand it or its importance. And since I am not in the Order, he has been… hesitant for me to train a potential Jedi. Now, let's go inside. It's freezing and I need help up."

Kemen chuckles but obliges.

 **Thank you time! Thank you, greenbean246, for following and favoriting. Thank you, CloudyRaven, for reviewing. I know the genetics are confusing but I cannot think of it as a pure chance of genetics. In canon, we know of three confirmed cases of Jedi having kids, all three are Force-sensitive. Legends, which was canon for a long time, there is a lot more cases of Jedi having kids. All of Leia and Han's kids, Ben Skywalker, Starkiller(Who I do not like), and we even have lines that are Force-sensitive. So yeah, I don't think its chance. I think it is an unspoken rule. At least, that is my view. Thank you, Midnight, for review. And please breath. Nothing in life is worth a panic attack. I get it, last year I was having so many of them because I got reject from my major(Turns out, probably the best thing that could have happened to me). But I would actually wake up in the middle of the night and have them. They weren't bad by any means and I know people suffer worse but they wouldn't go away. My best suggestion is, honestly, find something you love and escape into or take days for yourself away from whatever triggers them. Nothing is worth your health. Just breath. Even the most important things now will not be importance later. I hope that helps and I didn't just sound like a preachy person who doesn't know what they're talking about. I can't do anything about the migraines, but I hear a painkiller, lots of water and taking a breather works wonders. Your sisters... How do I put this politely? They sound like a**es. That's polite, right? As for listening to you, I like you. You're a lot of fun to talk to. Thank you, LordSkyjacker, for reviewing. May the fluff be with you. Thank you, Casstrum93, for reviewing. I hear that. I used charcoal once and it got everywhere. I'll stick to my beloved copic markers. Now, I am going to stop talking about the or risks sounding like Gollum. Thank you, Wikked Grin, for reviewing. Glad you liked the last chapter.**


	22. Ashla and Bogon

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Howdy! So, yeah, no new Ner Vod chapter this week. Hopefully, next time I update something. More bad news. No, update next week. I'm going to be traveling so I won't have time. Also, I've noticed a few people want more fights and even for Kemen to fall to the Dark Side. I will point you to I Don't Blame You and Ner Vod for fights and Dark Side falling. For one, I try to try something new with each story I do. This one is to try and make them dabbles. I don't always succeed, but that's the goal. It also makes it easier to get these up when I am busy. But as fights and falling to the Dark Side are something I struggle with making reasonable, I am not quite comfortable putting something like that in a format I am not completely good at yet. If you need anymore proof as to how long this sort thing can get, again, go look at I Don't Blame You. For a story reason why Kemen will not fall, because he wouldn't. Kemen is a Jedi and Ashla follower through and through. I am playing with the idea of each of Kanan and Hera's childern following a different aspect of the Force. Under this, Kemen would follow the Ashla, David the new following of Bendu, Fajr the old following of Bendu and that would leave Aibek to Bogon. And I do like the idea of Aibek being a little darker. But, can you really see Ezra not preventing Aibek's fall? I am a firm believer that isolation is a major factor in falling to the Dark Side. Ezra, knowing the signs of falling better than anyone at this point, would never let it get that far for anyone. So, yeah, I just cannot see it. Not without some outside force. I still might figure something out. Anyway this is too long. On to the story.**

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"Okay," I breathe. It is kriffing strange to be on this side of the master-padawan relationship. I grab a piece of yellow chalk and sit down on the pavement. Both my students for the day peer down at me, blankly. To think this confusion was caused by David asking about what the Bendu was. I know I shouldn't be surprised. I didn't even know about the Force at Kemen age.

Still, my life has been so surrounded by the Force that it is hard to explain some of the more basic aspects. My guess is the same applies for Kanan. Actually, is this basic? I don't think Luke teaches much on the Bendu. Yeah, the more I think about it, it was definitely an oversight to assume that they knew about the Bendu, an oversight that has been going on since I moved in. "I'm going to assume in most of the Force theory you've been taught in your summer classes at the Order, there are two sides to the Force, classical theory?"

"Yeah, the Dark and the Light sides," Kemen says.

"Well, it isn't true. At least it isn't fully true." I quickly amend. "There is more to it than that."

"Then why teach it like that?" David asks. "If it is so basic."

"That is exactly why they teach it first. You got to remember most of the kids taking the basic classes aren't going to continue on to be Jedi or have a family where Force-users out number the non-Force-users. There going to learn how not to accidently break stuff and to be aware of dangers they may face. And for that, and even for the majority of a Jedi's day to day life, the classical view is fine." I explain. "When it really starts getting dangerous is when it starts getting passed along, becoming an absolute."

I look them in the eyes. David's glowing lothalian blue eyes sparkle curiously. Kemen's green eyes show he is trying to internalize this information. "The only absolute is the fact that nothing else is absolute. And absolutes, while making thing simple to understand, can be very dangerous because they can lead people to extremes. Now." I draw to circles about a foot apart. "Let this be the traditional view of the Force." I write 'ASHLA' in the right circle. "Let this be the Light Side or the Ashla as it is known."

David's eyes widen, "Like Uncle Zeb's religion."

"Yes, the Lasats are one of a few peoples who still use the old names." I smile, with a nod. I move to the second circle and write 'Bogan' in it. "And let this be the Dark Side or Bogan. They don't interact, do they? Your either one or the other"

"I want to say yes, but with that monologue, I am going to say no," David says.

"What's a monologue?" Kemen raises an eyebrow.

"A long winded speech about one thing by one person about their inner thoughts." My little writer answers.

"Great! Now, what's a 'dweeb'? Oh, wait. I am looking at one." Kemen rolls his eyes in the teasing way only an older sibling can.

"Hey!" David takes the bait.

"Now, yes, there is interaction between the two." I break up the start of an argument. I should probably start with why it is okay to lean a little closer to the Bogan's side of things than the classical theory allows. Otherwise, the Bendu may horrify them. "The Bogan manifests anytime someone does something selfish, among other times. And not just for Force-sensitives, as the Force exists in all of us." I draw an oval surrounding both circles.

"But selfishness is bad." Kemen protests, taking the bait.

"And so is selflessness in extreme doses." I counter. "A person who is so wrapped up in others cannot take care of themselves. Is overworking themselves to the point of collapse for others good? What about taking an extra cookie when someone brings a box for the class after everyone's had one? Or rile up your brother because it is fun?" I say with a smirk. "A little bit of selfishness is needed for a healthy life. But needing those things doesn't mean you fall, does it?"

"No." I see understanding dawn in David's eyes. Kemen bites his lip, mulling it over.

"We talk about sides, but really, there are none, just the Force." I continue. "When you start getting into the ends, in either the Ashla or Bogan, you do wind up locking yourself into that portion of the Force and it can cloud your judgment. And when that happens it takes a lot to get back to balance, even more to flip sides." Kemen winces at that. David looks up at his brother. I send calming waves to Kemen, who lets them wrap around him like a blanket. "The Bendu is what lies between the Ashla and the Bogan." I gesture to my drawing. "And that's where I lie in my partnership with the Force." The two make noises of understanding. If they actually got it I will be very surprised, but it's a start.

A thought echoes back to my past. "Hey, no matter where you guys end up, I want you to know, we, your family, will always support you. Be it partnered with the Ashla, Bendu or even the Bogon. It doesn't matter. Your family will support you. I say this because when I was allied with the Bogan, I didn't know that, and that isolation made things so much harder. It put me in an even worse state than I already was. More vulnerable too."

"Of course, Uncle." Kemen laughs.

"We'll always be together." David smiles.

"Can I have the yellow chalk back?" Fajr asks. "I need to draw the ancient artifact Laima discovered." I look up at the stick figure version of Laima, Fajr's doll, in a, what I can only guess is, rectangular pit. I smile tossing her the chalk.

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 **Thank You Time! Thank you, KassyRey13, for favoriting, following and reviewing. And welcome to the community. Thank you, Starlight-Rebel, for following and favoriting. Thank you, CloudyRaven, for following and reviewing. I honestly think Yoda knew about Padme and Anakin. And I don't think he minded. If he did he would have probably pushed it down Luke's throat in ESB. Thank you, Wikked Grin, for reviewing. Glad you like Kemen. You'll get to see him and everyone learning about their place in the Force as they grow up. They are all still young so they have time. Thank you, Midnight, for reviewing. I can't believe you didn't notice you were the hundredth reviewer of Always There For You. In response to your review, Ezra isn't a Jedi, but that doesn't mean he can't teach the Force to others. Your sisters are something else. Don't worry everything will work out with you crush eventually. Ezra is a family man, always has been. At least that is the vive I get off him. He wouldn't do well alone. Thank you, Gummybear1178, for reviewing. Thank you, Nyxm Shadows, for reviewing. And the compliment. I hope my reasons for probably not fulfilling you request were reasonable. Thank you, Casstrum93, for reviewing. I can either see Luke and Ezra butting heads or loving each other. And I can't deside which I like better. But you're right. ESB Luke needed tutoring.**


	23. What Would You Trade?

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Sorry for the delay. I just got off of spring break and am trying to get back into the swing of things. Also, why I am updating this story instead of NerVod, as it is easier to pop these out. You know the drill.**

The loud stomps echo through the house. "Um..." I sigh, looking through the doorway Kemen just stormed through. "That went well." Honestly… it kind of did. I wasn't expecting it to be any better. And it could have been a kriff storm worse. At least, Kemen's outburst shut David's protests down. If they were really thinking, they could have tag teamed me into feeling really guilty. And possibly gotten Fajr and Aibek wanting me to as well. But Kemen isn't sitting clearly.

I look around the table. Everyone is quiet after I announced my decision not to get the nerve healing procedure that Kemen found out about on the holonet. They are all stunned by Kemen's outburst but the mild agreement rolls off them like the Jogan sauce on the pasta we're having for dinner. "Oh, come on, guys, it's not a big deal. I don't need it. Everything that it would fix, I've already compensated for. It would just be a waste of money and time. Besides, it's not like I am doing missions for the Resistance. Particularly, active ones anyway."

Kanan's brow furrows. That looks says we will be discussing this later. Joy. "If you're sure." I hear a low thud. Hera is glaring at Kanan, and probably just kicked him under the table. Hera gives him a glare, and it is painfully clear in the Force that she is not happy Kanan is agreeing so easily.

Kanan, though clearly wanting help, can handle it. "I am going to check on Kemen," I say, rolling back my chair. With focus, I contract the muscles in my legs using the Force, while pushing up with my arms, to get up. Something tells me I am going to need to show him I am fine.

I walk upstairs and to the kids' rooms. I knock on his and David's door. "Go the Kriff away," Kemen yells. My thirteen-year-old nephew is now officially swearing. Kriff.

Rolling my eyes, I say to the door. "Are you kidding? I heard worse swearing when I was seven. You'll have to do better than that." Kemen is quiet. "Kemen, I want to talk to you and a door won't stop me. It will just be awkward and everyone will hear my half of the conversation."

"Fine…" I can hear the sigh in his voice. I push a button. The door slides open. Kemen is curled up on his bed, datapad haphazardly hid under his pillow. With a sigh, I sit down next to him.

I gulp, wondering where to start. "You know, when I was your age, I twisted my ankle doing something stupid and reckless. Donny, my partner for a heist I was about to do, was so pissed of. Ferpil had to hold her back for fifteen minutes while she was swearing up and down the pawn shop." I shake my head. That almost gets a laugh out of Kemen

"Kemen, I know my decision is hard to understand." I start. "But please understand-"

"Understand, what?" Kemen huffs. "That you're refusing something that could help you."

"How would it help me?" I ask. "I can do anything I did before already. In fact, I've refined my technique so I am actually using leg muscle. It would be a waste of money-"

"But you can't keep it up forever. You still need a wheelchair. And it's still my fault!" Kemen shouts in tears.

Oh… That's what's going on. I drag him into my arms and hold him tight. "I wish I could say the feeling of guilt go away with time. But they don't. We just need to deal with them." I tilt his head up so he can see my face. "But, Kemen, I made my choice. I had a choice in that moment and I choose to save you. I am grateful I did every single day." I take a deep breath. "You know, as a young adult, I just made mistake, after mistake, after mistake. Saving you was the first good decision I had made in a really long time. And it led me back to the light side, to this family. The scars from that time, including my legs, remind me how easy it is to lose sight of what's important. Without what happened, I wouldn't have you guys. So if it came down to it, I'd say the trade was more that fair."

"I guess I never really thought about that." Kemen sighs. He's not happy, but he's stopped crying.

"Seeing past one's own guilty difficult to do." I agree, pushing myself up. "Come on, dinner's getting cold."

Kemen smiles, though I doubt this is the end of the conversation, "Yes, Master."

 **Thank You Time! Looks like we have straight reviews. Okay. Thank you, 14fox, for reviewing. Glad to see you like it. It is always nice to see a new face. :) Thank you, Midnight, for reviewing. No, not my Always There For You. I don't have a story called that. I'm talking about the really good baby Ezra fic set in the modern world. Thanks for getting I Won't Say I'm in Love stuck in my head. There is no way that won't happen if a Disney song is sung at me. Also, I found something disturbing on youtube. A video where kids between 5 and 10 try to guess the names and movies of classic Disney songs. They had an accuracy of about 35%. How? Thank you, Casstrum93, for reviewing, and being a better updater than me -.-;. Thank you, CloudyRaven, for reviewing. I can see Luke and Ezra disagreeing over their views, but I do think they would be respectful of the other's view. Admittedly, Luke and Ezra are my not-so-guilty crack ship, so I am a little biased to them getting alone. But I do not to let that get in the way of me being true to their characters. And that shows here, where Luke, having needed to rely on the Ashla in his journey, doesn't agree with Ezra's viewpoint but doesn't flat out reject it either because it worked for Ezra. Where the real heat will come later, as Luke feels Ezra's path is for the few and has reservations about Ezra teaching it, which came up with Kemen and will come up when Ben enters the picture. Sorry for rambling. These things help solidify things in my head.**


	24. Rebel Day

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Hey, long time. Sorry. I didn't have this up two weeks ago and last week was Sakura Con, which was awesome. I finally found an obi for my** **furisode. But Star Wars Rebels is ENDING! I get it I really do, a major part of the story is about watching Ezra and Sabine grow up. And they aren't kids any more. But another part of me is screaming my motto at the top of my lungs**

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"Father, not that I'm not excited to be taken out of school for two days. But why are we here?" David asks, dodging a couple of people carrying a banner saying "Rebel Day Fair". The white city towers around us, a pinnacle metropolitanism and prosperity in the outer rim so very different from the city I saw as a child. It truly is a blessing to see it thrive.

I look up at the street sign. The words "Kanan Jarrus Street" are printed in bold. As awesome as that is, it is not helpful.

"I was asked to speak at a museum opening. And I wanted to show you this planet." I answer, checking my chrono. We are going to be late.

"Let me know if you need help with your speech," David smirks, cheekily.

"I think I've got it covered." I ruffle his hair and then look around. "I swear I'm gone for a decade and they change everything. Excuse me, Miss," I call a young woman pushing a cart of cans of paint up the street. No doubt she is painting park benches or something for her Rebel Day project. "Could you tell me how to get to the Museum of Rebellion?"

The woman raises an eyebrow, "Aren't you local?" She gestures to her eyes. Ah, Lothal blue. Her voice is not judgmental but confused. Wow, the museum isn't even open yet and it's become a navigation landmark for locals.

"I was, but I've been living off world for over a decade," I explain.

"Oh," She nods, understandingly. "The quickest way is to go down Kanan Jarrus Way until you reach Bridger Memorial Park. There will be a lot of booths and rides set up for tomorrow's fair. Just keep going past all of that. The museum will be on the far side of the park. You know the names of members of the Specters, right?"

"Yeah," I smirk, amused.

"Basically, any street with one of their names in it goes to the park." She smiles.

"Thanks." I smile.

"Well, I better get going. My class ran out of paint for our community art wall." She smiles.

"Sabine would kill me if I kept artists from their work." I nod.

She smiles, "Happy Rebel Day!"

"Happy Rebel Day!" I smile and turn down Kanan's street. David looks up at me. "What?"

"This is your home planet?" David asks.

"Yeah," I nod. "I'd show you my childhood home but it got… blown up by the Empire. Eventually, after the fall, it and the surrounding area was turned into Rebellion park."

David nods but after a moment he asks, "Hey, Father. What's Rebel Day?"

"Well, Lothal has a long history of telling Authority figures to shove it. Heck, even before Lothal was an independent planet, the people who settled it didn't really have a place on their home planet. We almost lost that spirit during the Occupation, but in spite of that, we were one of the first planets to rise up. Even before Mandalore. When the war ended, the people of Lothal never wanted to loose that spirit again. So, in classic rebel fashion, they took the generally hated Empire Day and turned it into a day to remember why we fight. Over the decade it's been around, it turned into a community service day as well." I smile.

"That's cool." David smiles.

"Yeah, it is." I smile.

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 **And that was the first of this set of stories**

 **Thank You Time! My favorite time! Thank you, Casstrum93, for reviewing. Yeah, I know what you mean, I struggling to juggle being a full time student, finding an internship, a roommate who thinks my tooth brush is too loud and admin being a douche. Life of a college student. Thank you, Midnight, for reviewing. Basically last chapter, Kemen found out about this new treatement that could possibly heal nerves (Something I based of new technology I found). This meant Ezra could have gotten his legs back. But Ezra being the guilt ridden sod I wrote him to be sees his legs a the price he paid to return to the light and as a reminder of how hard it is to return to the Light. Something that no one else in the family can hope to understand. Thank you, KassyRey13, for reviewing. You have now idea how much your words mean to me. Thank you.**

 **Oh my gosh! I can't believe by this time next year Rebels will be over. I have to cry now.**


	25. Going Home

**RUHLSAR000 Here! You know the drill onto the show. Yeah, I know it iskriffing short but this seemed like a natural cutoff point.**

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We arrive at the clean newly constructed Ephraim and Mira Bridge Museum of Rebellion History. It's a clean looking building that matches the new city, though it clashes with my memory. I close my eyes and remember. Mom waking me up with a gentle nudge. Dad's hearty laugh as I tell him what happened at school, before being shut up by Mom's sarcastic remarks. Laughter, tears, smiles echo like corrupted holos, just out of clarity. "Why is there a statue of me over there?" David interrupts my thoughts.

I look up at where he is pointing. Sure, enough there is a sculpture of three people, one woman, one man, and one child that did, in fact, have a striking resemblance to David. I suppose that isn't surprising. "Well, look at that. He does look a lot like you." I ruffle his hair but focus on the adults' faces. I approach the statues.

Of course, they had to build the museum here. Even if it was destroyed, Lothal's rebellion was born here, like me…

I hate tomorrow. It doesn't matter if it is called Rebel Day or Empire Day or even my Birthday. It will only ever be the day my parents were stolen and my childhood ended. It's not the rage filled anger of my youth anymore, just the sad loathing of a tired old man, resigned to accept that as the past.

"Who are they?" David asks. I can't bring myself to answer. My eyes are burning. My throat is closing up. "Father?"

"Is it a good likeness, Mr. Bridger?" A voice asks. I turn to the voice and see a woman in a sharp gray suit with a Starbird badge on its breast. Her dark hair is pulled into a bun, framing her tanned face. Sharp but kind blue eyes look at me, hopefully.

"I wouldn't know. I haven't seen my parents in twenty-five years. But from the pictures, I'd say yes." I sigh; my voice cracks as I push down my personal feelings on this whole thing. At the end of the day, this is good for future generations and that is what counts.

"Parents?" David does a double take at the statues.

She nods, solemnly. "I'm Mora Sumar, curator of this museum."

"Morad Sumar's granddaughter?" I ask. She nods. "He was a good man," I say with a sigh.

"Mom always says he never had any regrets about fighting against the Empire." She reassures

I look back up at the statue. "That doesn't make it any easier for those they left behind."

Mora looks up. It's not hard to tell she doesn't know what to say. "We have a lot to discuss for tomorrow, but perhaps I could get a tour for this young man so he isn't bored out of his mind?" Mora asks.

I smile, looking down at David. "Would you like that?"

David smiles, with a nod. "That would be great."

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 **Thank You Time! Thank you, Casstrum93, for reviewing. And thanks for the congrats. I'm super happy this reached a hundred reviews. When I read your comment I had to stop myself from PM you to wait for it. Most of the Ghost crew statues are in Rebellion Park, which is a very big park. As for the girl not recognizing Ezra, I went back and forth on it. But, I really couldn't see her recognizing him. Ezra is thirty-two right now. In the timeline I set up for this story, he fell to the dark side at nineteen, from which he separated from the Ghost crew and started doing seedier missions for the Rebellion. There his open involvement in helping Lothal ended, meaning most of the images of him are from his teens. With that, the Rebellion has taken on a historical aspect in school, so there is that natural 'Oh that happened a long time ago' when really it was less than twenty years ago. Thank you, Midnight, for reviewing. I am not cleaning up Fangirl. She stained my carpet! I laughed a little when I read your review. You got so upset a few weeks when you thought you missed one of my story's hundredth review, but you missed that you were this story's hundredth review. Thank you, KassyRey12, for reviewing. I just realize your name is one letter off SassyRey. Thank you for being so understanding for the lateness. I do my best, but I have a very full class schedule. Your praises make me blush. Thank you, Nyxn Shadows, for reviewing. I am sorry for the late update. I had life get in the way. Thank you, CloudyRaven, for reviewing. Me too. I already had a "Kanan's goin' to die' moment, I don't need another! They already said Yoda may have meant a lot of things when he said Luke was the last of the Jedi. Heck, that could have been plural, as in he is the last of the current Jedi trained. Or as I like to think, he was lying out of his but because Luke had a real chance of falling.**

 **There is an awesome YouTube Kanera video to Hamilton's That Would Be Enough. Check it out! Let me know your thoughts.**

 **Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and supports for this story. This was originally supposed to just be a fun side challenge I took up occasionally, but has bloomed into a wonderful story, thanks to your support. Thank you.**


	26. Speeches

**RUHLSAR000 Here! You know the drill. Enjoy!**

I sigh. Could these ceremonies get any longer? And could my gut get any more twisted? Why the kriff was it easier to speak to a planet full of people over an illegal broadcast? I slide into the waves of the force to relax. Instead, I can feel the annoyance radiate off David. Okay, even if I didn't have the Force, I'd notice. His leg is bouncing like a ball. I lean over and whisper in his ear. "Just another forty-five minutes." I can literally feel the exacerbated sigh that he manages to hold off his lips. "I will buy you a toy from the gift shop if you make it through this." David sighs but nods, shifting back into his seat.

"It is with great pleasure I'd like to introduce our next speaker, a man who has seen the start, the end and everything in between in the fight against the Empire here on Lothal. Specter Six himself, Ezra Bridger, former Lt Commander of the Rebellion." Mora announces.

"Is it too late to call in sick?" I mumble, getting up. I commanded troops. I faced Sith temples. I've studied at the Order of the Dai Bendu. I got this.

I approach the podium. And set down my note card and raise up the mike. "Thank you, Miss Sumar for the introduction," I say, taking a deep breath, and sliding the Force over me. "My parents always said they were broadcasting for me and my freedom. That I was all they thought about. And as a parent, myself now, I know that is not unusual in the slightest." I pause to take another calming breath as a chuckle migrates through the crowd. "Today marks twenty-five anniversary of the last time I saw them. But, I know they'd be honored that this place is dedicated to them, knowing it is going to teach our children and their children and remind ourselves, to never take for granted the freedom to run, to laugh, and to not fear every little thing. That when push comes to shove, you need to be prepared to fight for it, because others may be too afraid to. There will be loss and sacrifice on that road. People may disregard your fight as unimportant or hopeless. But that should only make you fight harder because no one else will. And eventually, you'll reach out and touch someone else. And, maybe, they'll stand up to. " I breath. Next line? My mind blanks. I look down my eyes land on 'Hera'.

"A very wise woman told me 'If all you do is fight for yourself, your life is worth nothing.' That was the moment someone reached me. That was the moment I joined the rebellion. It was the moment I stood up and became something more than I was. And that little spark of rebellion, with a hundred others, turned into a fire across the galaxy from which lead to the New Republic.

"So, remember to stand up when you see injustice in the galaxy. And when you see your neighbor standing up, stand too. Because that's when we are strongest, when our individual voices merge into one." I smile and leave the podium. Karablast, I skipped a third of my speech. I run the speech through my mind. It seemed connected. And long speeches tend to loose the point. So, I guess that wasn't the worst thing to happen.

I sit back down next to David. "What is it?" I whisper as I notice him look up in wonder at me. "What did you just notice how amazing I am?" I joke.

He hugs me without leaving his chair, though he does slide as close as possible. I wrap my arm around him. "Now, I know where I get my skill with words." He smiles.

I chuckle. "I've been known to be charismatic."

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, Irishman1993, for following. Thank you, Shadow Nyxn, for reviewing. I am not running out of story ideas, yet. Thnak you, Midnight Luna, for reviewing. So thoughts on the video? Sucks about your ankle. Could be worse, though. I've sprained my ankle so many times that it takes a lot to sprain them now. That probably isn't good. How bleepin' old are your sisters? No offense but they sound like brats. Even when my mom thought I didn't actually sprain my ankle the first time, she didn't doubt I hurt myself accidentally. Given the fact I was still on it and the fact I hurt myself all the time but never seriously, I guess she had reason to believe it wasn't actually sprained. And she flip when she actually saw how swollen my ankle was. Thank you, CloudyRaven, for reviewing. Yeah, I agree a lot of people seem to be forgetting to think about the loses that everyone has faced. In fact, this whole set is really how David is being introduced to his grandparents, as it is still very painful for Ezra to talk about and David is still trying to rip information about his mother out of Ezra and has yet to turn his head to other people in his biological family. Thank you, Casstrum93, for reviewing. I know that feeling to a lesser extent. My family's home is literally on school property so I go back to see it fairly often. It's weird because I see my teachers retiring and it hits me that my school isn't static. It's a bizzare feeling. Thank you, KassyRey13, for reviewing. Glad you like it and thank you for your patience.**


	27. White Loth-Cats

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Sorry for the weird time last week. I have no clue why it wouldn't post the newest chapter. As such, I had to reupload it six times. Anyway, you know the drill.**

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David runs down the stall-lined area. "Come on, Father!" David smiles, elated at the lights, games, and food that Hera will kill me if I let him eat. I guess that will be our secret. He runs back to me dragging my hand to the nearest fried thing. I think it is Bantha. Then, curly fries. Then, the tilt-a-whorl. Then cotton candy. Then we went on the twirling swings things. Then the small roller coaster they brought in. It's nice and calming. I wonder if this is what it is like to fly without a ship. The wind blows against my skin and hair. I send an elated feeling to David, with a question if he is feeling the same way.

He meets that with a feeling of distinct "I am going to hurl feeling." And there goes my elated feeling as start sending him calming feelings. The safety restraints barely pop up before I'm rushing David to the nearest trashcan, located conveniently right next to the exit. Even more convenient, it isn't overflowing yet. I hold back his hair and rub his back as dinner comes back up. After a few minutes, he is done. David looks up at me, flush with embarrassment.

"Well, that wasn't smart of me," I say, rubbing the back of my head. David tilts his head. "Sorry. After you've been in combat with your mom, you tend to lose all sense of motion sickness. I didn't realize-"

"Can I have some water?" David asks, still looking a little green.

"Sure," I say without hesitation. "Just stay here."

"Wasn't planning on going anywhere." David leans against the fence surrounding the roller coaster. Am I seriously leaving my son alone? I bite my lip.

"Don't go with anyone. Stay here." I say, again.

"I won't!" David huffs.

"Okay. I just worry." I say, before turning to find the nearest drink vendor, keeping my senses open for any danger around David, but with the amount of people around it is just more efficient to get the general tone of surrounding hundred meters. I quickly find a vendor buy a bottle of water. I quickly rush back.

There is the trashcan and… There's the trashcan… There's- WHERE THE KRIFF IS DAVID! I control my Force signature so I do scare the innocence around the fair. But if someone kidnapped my son-

That thought process is not helping. Calm yourself. If David wandered off he is grounded for a month. I breath trying to draw in focus, but ever little noise proves a distraction. Kanan's methods are failing me right now.

I clasp my hands together and go through the hand motions and chants I learned at the last temple of Dai Bendu years ago, focusing on them to block out the noises and light. I will myself to access the Force. I locate David away from the festival and run to him.

I breathe a sigh of relief as I see him sitting on the edge of a small fountain his jacket wrapped into a ball on his lap. "Thank the Force," I say, rushing overlooking him over for injury.

"I'm fine, Father," David says.

"Then You Are Grounded For A Month," I order. "You almost gave me a heart attack." I hug him close. A mew comes from his bundle. I pull back to look down. The is a baby Lothcat, shivering and wet, wrapped in his jacket. "David?"

"A white tooka appeared, at least I think it was a tooka appeared. Its face was covered in fur and its head was squarer and its fur didn't go all the way down its arms. But anyway, it appeared. And it wanted me to follow it. Father, I don't know how I knew that. I didn't try to connect to it. It's like I already was. And I listened to the Force, it didn't seem wrong to listen to the tooka. I'm sorry."

"Breathe," I command sitting down on the ground. I take the little one from my son, unwrap him and tuck him under my shirt to warm him up. He curls into me like I was his mother. "I'm not mad, you just gave me a good scare. And the word you're looking for is Loth-cat, a tooka species native to Lothal. So, what about this little guy?"

"The white one brought me here, but was gone when I saw the baby one trying and failing to crawl out of the fountain," David says.

"It's unusual for one to be out alone this young," I say, noting that the kit couldn't have been more than six weeks old. "Its mother should be near." But there is no one, not even a Loth-cat, near.

"Is that Grandmom?" David asks.

I jolt a little bit and look up at the mosaic the water is cascading down. A dark skinned woman with unbound black hair and Lothalian blue eyes is holding up a jug of water ending at the spout for the fountain, white Loth-cats surround her. Above the mosaic, Mira Bridger is written. They nailed the kindness the came off her. "Yeah, yeah that's her."

"Why is she surrounded by Loth-cats? Are Loth-cats normally white?" David asks. The little one shifts a little, before settling down. From it's breathing I know it has fallen asleep. He's much more of a normal temperature now.

"No, they look like our little friend," I say. "It's probably because Mom was born an Aditi and the Aditi's guard is a white Loth-cat."

"What?" David asks, clearly confused.

I chuckle, "It's an old Lothalian legend that the twelve families to originally settle Lothal were granted special creatures to watch over them and guide them when need be. The Aditi family's was the white Loth-cat."

"Did Granddad have one?" David asks.

I shake my head. "No, the Bridgers only came to Lothal about two hundred Lothalian years ago, much later than the original twelve. At least, not a well known one. I do think that the Force can and does connect us to certain animals when we need to be. Remember, when I told you about Ahsoka, well, a convor followed her around through some of her most trying times. Who knows, maybe you saw our family's tonight."

"Have you ever spotted him?" David asks.

"More times than I care to count," I admit. "The first time was when he led me to a friend of my parents, who… told me what happened to them. I say him a lot when I had fallen and always with a sad look in his eyes." I smile, thinking about the story Mom used to tell. "He stole Mom's purse one time. And it was found by a man that would one day be my father."

"What were they like? I mean I know what they did I saw at the museum, but what were they like?" David asks.

I close my eyes. "They were kind. And strong. And patient. And worried. They were taken on my seventh birthday, so I honestly don't remember much. Some phrases they would say, some feeling, maybe a vague memory or two of walking down the walking down the street or helping Dad make dinner." I breathe. David looks at me as if confused "You know, I wrote everything I could remember down when I was seventeen. I brought it out when I was writing the speech. If you want to read it, you can when we get back."

"I'd like that." David smiles.

"We should probably head back to the hotel. It's late and we still need to pack." I smile, handing his bottle of water. As he washes his mouth out, I secure the Loth-cat. We could run it to the no-kill shelter. At this age, he should easily be adopted and assimilated into domestic life.

"Can we keep him?" David asks. Um… I wouldn't be opposed to it. Really, I've missed Loth-cat.

"We'd have to ask Hera and Kanan," I say. Before those puppy dog eyes can wear me down, I usher him back to the hotel.

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, BlackTemplarKnight295, for following and favorite. Thank you, MCUtuberFanGal, for following, favoriting, and reviewing. And for pointing out that I misspelled Nyxn Shadows name in last weeks thank you time. Sorry, Nyxn Shadows. Thank you, Midnight, for reviewing. I hope you feel better. And I hope your sisters aren't being too annoying. My week was good, busy but everything has calmed down a bit. Hope this week is better. Thank you Sp for reviewing and somehow giving this story five more chapters than it "needed". That arc is going to hit in a few weeks. Have a wonderful week all.**


	28. Kriffing Donny

**RUHLSAR000 Here! You know the drill.**

Nuha looks at me as if saying are you going to bring it up. "So… I was wondering if we could possibly discuss… Well… Nuha and I's relationship is getting really serious…." Serious enough that I don't need to look at her to know that she is pinching the bridge of her nose.

She lets out a verbal sigh. "Ezra and I have been dating for two years now. The lease on my apartment is up next month. And I've been wondering if I should renew it or not. I would like to hear your opinions on the possibility of me moving in so that Ezra and I can take the next step in our relationship." She says, with a clarity and firmness she usually only reserves for business meetings. Which shows how nervous she is at this point, as she hasn't used that voice with Hera and Kanan since… ever?

Hera and Kanan give each other a sideways glance. "Didn't she already move in like nine months ago," Kanan smirks.

"That's what I thought. She spends at least four nights a week here. And is on all the kids emergency contact lists." Hera says, teasingly. "Quite frankly, I amazed you haven't asked her to marry you, yet." There is an underlying serious tone to her voice. I do not like where this is going. Nuha stiffens beside me, subtly glancing at me. I bite my lip. Nuha takes my hand under the table.

"Yeah, I want to know when I can start calling Nuha my aunt," Fajr says eagerly, knocking over her drink.

Kemen catches it before it spills with an eye roll. "Yeah, I was wondering the same thing."

"What would I even call you, Nuha?" David asks, smiling. "I mean Mom is Mom. And 'mother' is for my biological mother. And I am way too old to start using 'mama'."

"You can already go ahead and call me aunt if you want. But marriage… it's kind of off the table for us." Nuha answers, honesty, but she sounds distant.

I have trouble breathing as I start remembering those last days. The claustrophobic relationship, the control, the- Are the walls Kriffing closing in? Where'd everyone go? What- Why am I in a seedy as kriff bar?!

"Ezra!"

"Kanan!" My voice breaks as it had when I was young.

"Ezra." Donny… I look up and there she is. How- Why-

"Ezra!" Nuha's calm voice comes out of nowhere. "That's not real. You are safe. You are surrounded by people who love and cherish you." This isn't- Oh… I center myself in the Force and let a moment pass. Then another. And another. Finally, I open up my eyes. I am back at the table surrounded by concerned looks. There is the sound of gasps. I look down to see Nuha's vise grip on my arm, and then I feel it. I look up at her. Fear laces her face but it isn't of me, but for me. In spite of that, she has shoved David behind her, as if to protect him.

I look to the other side of me and see Kanan with concern echoing through his face. I realize I'm gasping. I try to settle my breathing when I look at the table. All the glasses have shattered. "Did I- Is everyone okay?" I look around for any injuries but see none. "Hera, I am so sorry!"

"Forget that, are you okay? What was that?" Hera asks.

"I'm sorry." I apologize. "I haven't had one of those since in a few years, even longer before that. I didn't think I'd get those again." I shake my head. Nuha releases my arm and I bury my face in my hand. She hugs me like I didn't just destroy everything. I don't deserve my family. I am just a danger to-

No, I am not. Nuha hugs me, tighter. That is just Donny's manipulations and my own guilt complex. I am not a burden. I am not the most dangerous thing it there lives… Right?

Just move on. I recall the last thing Nuha had said, with a sigh, "Yeah, marriage isn't really on the table for us." Hera, Kanan, Kemen and even David do not fall for it.

Fajr, however, falls for it hook, line and sinker. "What? Why?" Oh crap, I did not think this through. From one uncomfortable subject back to another. I look over to Nuha for help, but she is still looking a bit worried. I can't say it is unwarranted as if I reflect how I am feeling then I look like a pickaxe has been driven through my head. At the very least, experience tells me I am deadly pale. "Tell me!" Fajr, please stop. Instead, Fajr runs around the table and grabs my hand. "Why!"

"Because I'm technically still married to a woman I've been separated from for over a decade. And getting her to sign divorce papers is impossible!" I snap out. Oh, Karabast! Did I really just say that?

Everyone's eyebrows shoot up and there is silence.

"Was… Is she my mother?" David whispers.

"David…" I start but I have nothing else to say.

"Is She My Mother?" David asks firmly.

"Hera's your mother." I can't do this. I push myself up from my chair. Nuha looks at me concerned, hovering around me. "I am going to bed."

David cuts me off, putting himself between me and my path to my bedroom. "Answer Me!" David's eyes are wet like he is fighting off tears.

"Yeah," I whisper without thinking. "She is."

David looks down at the ground. "Why hasn't she tried to contact us? Can… Can I meet her?" Everyone just stares, concern mixed with curiosity.

It would be so easy to lie, to keep my place here. Heck, the lie is partially true. Donny has no interest in being in David's life. And as hard as that is for an eleven-year-old to hear, it would be better for him to cut it cleanly and he also wouldn't hate me. But it is still a lie.

I can't lie to him. But he is going to hate me for keeping them apart. But I can't let Donny near him. Will he want me to leave? Will I have to go back to watching from the shadows? I deserve this. After all, I've done, I was fooling myself into thinking I could have a peaceful life. Donny was right…

And I can't do that to my son. I can't lie to him. Even if he never wants to see me, again. "David, you mother… our relationship was never healthy… It was too filled with rage… And we had very different types of rages. I was ice, I withdrew a lot and was unable to give her the attention and support she needed. And she was… a fire. She would lash out at the smallest provocation." I rub a scar on my forearm that had nearly caused me to bleed out, one of our more violent confrontations. The horror feels bitter as feel it rolls off Hera. I don't need to turn around to know she is whispering her realization into Kanan's ear. A moment later, horror rolls off him, too. That wasn't the worst she did. After all, physical scars fade much faster that emotional ones.

"Then, why were you to together?" David asks tears in his eyes. I kneel down and look up into his eyes. I want to hug him, but I don't know if he wants to hug me. I squeeze his hands and send my undying love for him to him through our bond. He needs to know I love him more than anything with what I am saying.

"I had fallen to the Dark Side. I… I've never been good alone. And I liked having someone around who wouldn't make me look into a mirror and examine the things I had done. Because I was fooling myself into thinking I was on the right side. And if I looked too close, I knew, I'd crack." I admit. "So that's why I stayed. And eventually, you were born. Too early and too small, but you were alive. And… I have scoured the galaxy, seen everything from supernovas to waterfalls hundreds of meters high. And nothing has ever compared to seeing you for the first time. I don't know how she didn't see it, couldn't see it. But, and this is going to sound awful, there isn't a day that goes by that I am not grateful for that. She has never tried to contact you and I would have blocked any contact to her had she." I rub the forearm scar again.

My emotions are jumbled beyond belief. I can barely focus through the memories trying to flood me. "I'm not talking about this anymore." I shut this down, forcing myself up. I can't make my legs stop shaking.

I can't maintain it. Pain fills my temple as I fall. "Father!"

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, ally239, for following. Thank you, suju4lyfe32, for favoriting and following. Thank you, Benny 1571, for favoriting and following. Thank you, Casstrum93, for reviewing. No problem, I am just grateful you review so regularly. Thank you, Midnight Luna, for reviewing. 3. 2. 1. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday, Dear Midnight! Happy birthday to you. I was so tempted to sing the monkey version. I'm glad your sisters aren't too bad.**


	29. No One's Fault

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Wow! I'm actually getting this out on time. Shocking! You know the drill.**

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"You are exceedingly lucky, Mr. Bridger." The doctor says. "A centimeter to the right and you'd have been some serious trouble. Now you're going to be staying here overnight for observation and I would advise against doing that whatever it is you do instead of walking."

"Noted." I sigh, resisting the urge to itch at the bandage around my head.

"I'll go get your group." The doctor says, opening the ER curtain. David is standing there.

"Could you give us a moment?" I ask. The doctor nods and goes off to another patient.

"How'd you sneak away?" I try to joke.

"Everyone's asleep…" David whispers. I scan his emotion. Nervous worry, and as expected anger and frustration.

I sigh. He must hate me. Best to get it over with. "Alright… Let's hear it…" I don't want to though.

He looks down at his shoes. "I'm so, so sorry, Father." He blurts out. What the kriff? "Please, don't leave. I won't do it again! Please!"

What. The. Kriff.

"Woah, Woah. What?" I manage to say, cutting off his rumbling. "Why are you apologizing?"

"Because it's my fault you fell! It's my fault your hurt." David mumbles.

"David, come here." I pat the hospital bed. He sits down but doesn't look at me. Wonderful. "Hey David's back, can you tell my son it's hard having a conversation with him when he is facing a wall?"

David sigh, but shifts so that we are both facing the same direct. I wrap my arm around his shoulder. "Now, where did you get that silly nothing that this was your fault?"

"If I hadn't pushed, you wouldn't have lost focus," David says.

"But it was me who lost focus. I take that risk every time I stand. And the focus it has become second nature to me. But when it fails, I am the one that failed." I say. "Now what is this about me leaving?" I bite down my worry.

"I hurt you," David says.

"No, you didn't." I correct.

"You're hurt because I wouldn't let it drop," David says.

"And you have every right to be curious about… her…" I can't call her David's mother or even by her name. "Honestly, I was scared you hate me."

"What! Why?" David sits up.

"Because while she hasn't tried to contact you, I would have barred any attempts." I sigh, waiting for the fire. "I even expected you'd want me to leave."

Arms wrap around my chest suddenly. "Never. I don't want that. I'll never want that."

I put my hand on his back. "I… But I would block her-"

"I don't care! I don't know her! I know you, you're here." David looks up at me, tears streaming down his face, each twisting like a knife.

I brush them away. "I'm not going anywhere, Son." He curls into my chest and I hug him.

 **THANK YOU TIME! WHY AM I SHOUTING?! Thank you, Nyxn Shadows, for reviewing. I try;). Thank you, Midnight Luna, for reviewing. Honestly, it was a mixture of my Blueberry Whump quota having filled back up and trying to set up my Ezra gets really hurt request. Wow, my Blueberry Whump quota is high. Oh, I forgot to mention it. But do you remember those Loth-cat plushes from Celebrations 2016. Well, you can still get the white on on the manufactures website for $20. The site is . The shipping is a little pricey, but it gets to you in like three days. I know, I have one. He's a little smaller than I thought he'd be, but that just makes him a kitten. He is also about as soft as a kitten with stiff enough stuffing that he can stand on his own. Fair warning you will probably start treating him like a cat, from mindlessly petting him to feeling guilty leaving him alone. If you really want one, there they are. Thank you, LordSkyjacker, for reviewing. I'm glad you like the balance, that is really hard to do. Thank you, AmaraRae, for reviewing. Good to hear from you again.**


	30. Assignment

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Sorry about the delay. Friday was insane with homework. And I was lazy Saturday. Oh and anyone who hasn't seen Wonder Woman yet needs to see it. It and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol2. Do it. Heads up, while I don't have "anything" next Friday, I am moving out of my dorm Thursday and moving to Japan for three months next Saturday. So, don't expect an update next week. You know the drill**

Kemen runs through a kata in Aratu. "Keep your guard up!" I call out to him from the deck. My padawan is fourteen. He shouldn't be having to use a stick. Why won't Luke get it through his thick-

"Bridger." Luke's voice cuts off my rant. Son of a Bantha…

"Hey," I look up to him. "What brings you here?" He comes to stand next to me, looking over at Kemen.

"He has gotten good," Luke notes, happily.

"Good enough that you'll let him go to Ilum?" I ask. Kemen lands a practically hard maneuver.

"Bridger-"

"No, Skywalker. He's well past the age where he should have gotten his crystal. Heck, I was only a little older than he is when I got my first crystal." I huff. We've had this conversation before.

"And look how well that turned out?" Luke says.

"Kanan was younger than me. He is ready, Luke. He's not the five-year-old putting mud into your mug anymore…" I say as a realization hits me. "It's not him. It's me and my teachings you don't trust."

"No…" Luke says.

"And this is why I didn't stick around when we were twenty-one." I sigh, recalling the short week we met and had one insane time even for us. It wouldn't have worked out I had been nowhere near ready to trust anyone at that point.

"I thought your psycho of an ex had something to do with that," Luke says offhandedly.

"That too," I admit. Given what Donny had done shortly after it wasn't a stretch to think Luke wouldn't have survived that. "So, I take it you have a mission for me."

"The temple was contacted by a Maz Kanata stating there's an old Jedi temple on her planet, Takoda. Assuming she is right, bring back whatever knowledge you can find." Luke says.

"If it's Maz, it's right." I ask."How big of a dig are we talking about?"

"No dig. It's too deep for any archeologists to get in." Luke says. Kemen does a triple flying spin kick into a double strike. "Nicely done."

"Dr. Jones would beg to differ on that." I acknowledge the professor I had worked so often with in the past.

"He's at a dig looking for some arc." Luke acknowledges. "Takoda is close to neutral space. We were hoping to get it before the Knights of Ren catch wind."

"I'll see what I can do," I smirk.

"Good," he turns to look me in the eye. "You haven't failed me yet." He turns to leave but pauses. "For what it's worth, I do think you're training him well."

"Just not as a Jedi." I guess and am rewarded with a sheepish look. "Luke, be careful. The old order was brought down because of its narrow-mindedness. Don't make the same mistake."

"The old order was brought down by Palpatine trick F-Darth Vader into joining him," Luke says in a huff.

"Be more careful of that slip. The galaxy is unforgiving and once something is known it cannot be unknown." I repeat the words of the Bendu, one of the wisest beings I have known up there with Yoda and Treya-holocrom-voice-whatever.

"You know?" Luke's eyebrows shoot up.

"What are you talking about?" I play dumb. "You best head back to your temple."

"Right, let me know if there is any issue," Luke says.

"May the Force be with you," I say but it comes out sounding like May I be wrong.

Luke notices it. "May the Force be with you," It will be fine. I sigh turning back to Kemen. And a wicked idea comes to mind. Luke only banned us from going to Ilum. A smirk forms on my lips. That's for after I get back.

 **Thank you all! It's Thank You Time! Casstrum93, thank you for reviewing. And I repeat, good luck. Thank you, MCUtuberFanGirl, for reviewing. While nothing is directly planned, as this is David and Ezra story primarily, I will see what I can do. I think I've made it clear that I don't mind doing that with this story. Hey, Midnight! Great to see you're awesome face again. Hey, Inner Fangirl, how ya been? Being responsible I hope. If you need to sell your mom on buying a lothcat, just say it is for stress relief. Seriously, that is how I survived midterms and finals. I'd just curl up a pet him. I'm not kidding when I say he is like an actual cat. As for how am I human, honestly, I think that might be a little up in the air. My mom certainly asks me that a few times.**


	31. WHY DO TEMPLES KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD?

**RUHLSAR000 Here! All the way from Japan. It is close to 1 am here. Goodnight, Everybody!**

I shove my way through broken walls covered in moss and green kriff where the occasional stream of sunlight seeps in and cravings where it doesn't. The green appears less and less as I get deeper into the ruined temple on this Hutt forsaken jungle planet. Seriously, why does Maz like this place?

I pause as I feel as if a breeze kisses my cheeks and sweet music plays on harsher tones in my ear and smile. It's the same reason why this temple is here. The Force knots around this planet as swirls around the galaxy like a tide and is remarkably in balance. And clearly I've been reading way too much from my son's poetry unit portfolio.

I walk straight into a spider web. I cough to clear my lungs of the millennium of kriff built up it here. And that is more my style of poetry. Lots of swearing and less flowers. "Luke, you owe me big this time." I scan the walls or what's left of them. I spot a column attached to the wall about a meter in diameter. That's places it as old, really old. Old enough that the builders weren't sure that the columns would stay up so they braced them against the wall.

I scan the wall between the columns' attachments. The grandger means I am probably in the main hall. Sure enough, the tell tail symbols of Ashla cluttering the space to an ridiculous degree agrees with me. I roll my eyes at the obvious fear they held for the Dark Side, literally they sowed their own destruction from their inception. Hopefully, this order will be different. Not fear it, but not use it. Respect it.

Who am I kidding? The new order is going to shoot itself in the foot before that happens. As long as Kanan and Kemen are unaffected and it can recover, I am fine with that. But the likelihood of that is slim.

I set up the room scanner and let it begin doing its thing as I inspect the alcoves more thoroughly. One contains a script contain a meditation chant similar to one the Order of the Dai Bendu use. Probably had the same root chant, but changed over time. I take out my pocket scanner and make a quick on for personal research and drive to preserve the knowledge of the Force.

I step out of that alcove and swing my flashlight to the left, spotting a mural on the far wall. I check the scanner. That section should already be examined. I approach the mural. It looks like a map, but there is a line connecting various "systems" and none of the "systems" look-

There is one system that is very familiar. "ATOLLAN" is marked at about waste height in the far corner in ancient script. The line pauses at that one before going off the mural one way and hoping over s few systems in the other. This is heading into wild space. Force's Will. Is this-

No, that's stupid. Typhon is a myth. Though it is interesting that both the Dai Bendu and the Jedi records and myths, though with slight altering to pronunciation and spelling… Still, I follow the line. Karabast! A large portion of the map has been cut off by age, but the line continues after the missing section. It continues until it reaches one system, one planet. Tython. Its real… My hand traces over the word. The home of the Je'daii. The birth place of the Sith and the Jedi. It's real. There is solid eviden-

I take a step back. I am the first person to see more than a literary reference to the home of the Je'daii in eons. Tears well up in my eyes as my heart twist. Even though I am not a Jedi, I still feel a deep connection to this missing world. It is not surprising honestly; the Jedi gave me my family. Even if I am not one of them, their teaching formed the foundation of my understanding of the Force. But it feels like I found something I was missing and didn't know it. I begin scanning it with my pocket scanner taking extra time to get a really good scan.

The Force flares. "Karabast!" I growl, tucking the scanner into my pocket and the room begins to shake. I latch onto the Force, dodging the larger pieces falling onto me. I dodge a bolder. A sharp pain hits my head.

… _Dark…_

It's… Dark… I'm tired… I shake my head. Pain shoots through me. I have to stay awake…

 _Why?_ _Where am I?_

Vaguely, I try to recall that. _Cave… Cave in?_ I try to move my arm, to see if its pinned. Thank the First Light. I feel around. Rock surrounds my other arm, pinning it. But it does seem crushed, assuming that is the reason I don't feel pain in that arm. I reach out to the Force to lift the rocks but it slips away. Several rocks pin my legs.

 _I can't get out…_

Oh, Force! Kanan! Help!

But…

 _It's hopeless, isn't it?_

I'm not going to see Kanan, again.

 _Oh, Force! I wasted so much time with hate and anger._

 _David_ … No please mind, don't make me go there. Please anywhere else. My eyes burn.

I'm not going to see Hera, the woman who's been my mother longer than my own, again. Nor Sabine, my dearest sister, and Zeb, my protective brother. They've already lost so much. Please, don't pull away from everyone. Kemen… Kanan, please finish his training.

 _David… No, please I can't…_

Fajr and Aibek, you rascals, please take your time figuring out what you want to do. And remember to be kids. Nuha, I never thought I'd trust myself to care for another the same way as I care for you. I wish I could have given you everything you deserve. Donny, you were my oldest friend. Will you be okay?

 _David…_ I don't bother trying to my tears. _David, my son, my greatest light. I am so sorry for the pain I've caused._

 _David… I lov…_

 _David…_

 _Dav…_

 _…_

 _…._

 _….._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…p…_

 _…beep…_

 _…beep…_

 _.beep…_

 _beep…_

 _Beep…_

 _Beep_

 _BEep_

 _BEEp_

 _BEEP_

Okay, that is really annoying. Wait. I exist… I feel something squeeze what? My hand? I squeeze back. It's like fighting the strongest rubber band ever made. "…zRa.." A voice whispers. I know that voice.

 _David?_

No, that may be the only name I can remember with my head so slippery but that's not David…

"…cter…mo…" The voice whispers again.

"M…dger…cany…mo…oes," another says.

"He…ldn't…do…for…" The first voice says. Something enters my hand.

The second voice says, "Ple..sq…z….and…"

What? Basic, speak basic. _Squeeze his hand, Ezra._ The first voice, Kanan's voice rings true. I do what he asks without hesitation. But I also latch on to his Force signature. It's harder than it should be but he latches on to me as well. He drags me out of the darkness when I can't, like always. I stare up at a hideously white ceiling and have the beeping going in my ear again.

"Thank the Force," Kanan's voice comes from the left. I tilt my head his way. His mask is off so there is no hiding his relief and weariness. I open my mouth to say something witty like _The Force isn't done with me, yet._ What comes out is something I won't even call a squeak. "Take it easy. You've been out for three weeks."

Three weeks… What was I- Oh, the collapse. THE MAP! I need to- I see Kanan's face. He looks likes he's aged fifteen years since I last say him, with bags under his eyes and the wrinkles in his forehead being far more pronounced. It can wait. Everything can wait. I squeeze Kanan's hand. Family comes first. I look around. It's only us and the doctor, who is trying to shine something in my eyes. "Zeb and Sabine stayed as long as they could." Kanan explains. "But you know duty. Cham had a heart attack while you were out, he's fine, but Hera had to go to Ryloth to get things in order. You know what her siblings are like. The kids are in school and Nuha's at work, something about saving her days off for when your awake and need company."

I'd chuckle if I had the energy. "You?" I croak out.

"Substitute and grading tests." Kanan gestures to a datapad.

"Master Skywalker… must…. _love_ … that…" I manage a smile.

"Yeah, speaking of him, I should probably call him. He was shocked and worried when he heard about it." Kanan say,

"Sabine… Zeb… first…" I grunt out already tired.

"Of course." Kanan grabs a holo-communicator and sits on the side of the bed, putting it in my lap. I smirk as he calls them.

Sabine picks up after two rings. "Kanan, how's- Ezra!" She smiles brightly as tears come to her eyes and her chair is flung backwards.

Kanan leans in, "He's sounds like a frog and is exhausted to high haven but awake. He's going to be fine"

"Good. Now I have no issue doing this. EZRA! IF YOU EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN I WILL-"A string of creative threats follow. After about five minutes I look at Kanan as Sabine threatens to skin me like a bantha.

"You… al…ready threatened… to skin me like a Loth-wolf." I say. Kanan mouths _I'd help her._ I almost roll my eyes. Instead, I yawn.

Kanan leans in. "Hey, Sabine. Ezra's getting pretty tired and we still have a to call Zeb. And I'm sure you have something we interrupted."

"Right, right. Ezra, I'm glad you're okay. Don't know what I'd do without my Vod'ika. Rest well. Good luck, Kanan. Knowing Ezra he'll try to get up by tomorrow."

"I know. Talk to you soon." Kanan smiles.

"Bye…" I croak out.

"Bye." Sabine smiles as the feed cuts out.

Kanan calls Zeb next and we get a voice mail. "Hey… Zeb… Just wanted to let you know I'm awake…. Call back when able… Sabine already read me the riot act so you won't have to. Bye.

Kanan hangs up. "You know he is still going to read you the riot act."

"No duh. Hera." I say, through a yawn.

"Right, last call through. Then back to sleep." Kanan says.

 _But I need to talk to Luke about Typhon!_

And I need to be awake to properly explain… I nod in agreement. Hera answers immediately. "Kanan, is everything okay?" She looks frazzled and I remember rarity of talking to her siblings isn't just because of distance. I'm guessing her older brother has already tried to set her up with a "nice twi'lek boy", despite the fact that she's married and having zero misgivings about her interspecies relationship.

"You… must… need a… nap… more… then me, Hera." I smile.

Hera blinks rapidly clearing the tired from her eyes. "Ezra, you're awake!"

"Just woke up and Kanan's already sending me to bed." I yawn.

"Good. You shouldn't be overexerting yourself right now." Hera says, getting her mom voice out. It's been a while since that was directed at me. "How are you doing?"

"Sore. Tired. And know you will kill me if I scare you like that again." I say. "You?"

"If I hear one more comment about how I should have settled down with a twi'lek or comment on how I should stop flying and 'actually' settle down, I will not be held responsible for my actions. Father even snapped at them already. Twice." Hera sighs.

"Have I mentioned how much I like the fact that your father likes me?" Kanan chimes in.

"Multiple times." Hera rolls her eyes, but the creases around her eyes relax.

"Sorry for worrying you." I sigh. "I'll be more careful in the future."

"Don't make a promise you can keep," Hera says, bluntly. "I get it. We all need to make sacrifices for the greater good." But it's getting harder and harder to see the point of it all. Hera doesn't say it out loud but she doesn't need to.

I know the feeling exactly, though I have no doubt she feels it more keenly than anyone. There's been conflict in the galaxy since she was seven, starting with the Clone Wars. She has been nonstop fighting since then and any memories of a time not fighting are hazy at best. And Hera doesn't need to look far to see what that much fight can do to a person. Her father is a prime example.

What do I say to that?

The door swishes open. David, head down, enters. But we have reasons to keep fighting. So hopefully they won't have to. "Hey..." I smile. David's head jerks up and tears spring to his eyes. He starts to move but pauses, biting his lip. He's afraid of hurting me. "Get over here already." I reassure him. He doesn't need to be told twice. He walks right up to me and sits down gingerly. I grab him and pull him into a hug. Fajr and Aibek slide in on either side.

Kemen frowns, "Aibek move. I want to get in there!"

"You snooze you loose." Aibek grunts.

"Aibek," Kanan warns, missing the sibling playful edge to his voice, a growing trend. Hopefully, that trend dies soon or Aibek's teen years are going to be awesome.

Aibek huffs, having already started moving to make room. Kemen rests his hand on my shoulder. "Don't ever do that again, _Master_." He says very clearly reminding me of my responsibility to him in a hope that it would dissuade dangerous stunts in the future. Not going to happen but sweet.

Nuha comes over and kisses my forehead. "You do this to me again and you'll wish you stayed buried." I'm home. I'm alive. I start crying and I have no idea why.

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, Guest, for spoilers galore in your review. ;). Thank you Nyxn Shadows for reviewing. Yeah, if Ezra doesn't have a mischievous streak in him as an adult then he will be the most laid back Jedi every. That might be why I like his possible dynamic with Luke so much. They are both so similar and yet so different. Thank you, Midnight, for reviewing. I really don't have anything to say to that. Glad you're doing okay. Have you ordered your Loth-cat? In a few weeks, I'll be releasing a one-shot involving a Lothcat and Ezra. Thank you, Cloudy Raven, for reviewing. Though I do think you are selling Yoda short. He was a little imp in both design and action. I do think he recognized that the Jedi were mistaken in a lot of ways while in his exile and he did try to correct this with Luke but he simply didn't have time.**


	32. Onwards

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Japan is awesome! How's it going? You know the drill.**

Nuha leans against the headboard of our bed as I start filling my duffle at the end. "Are you sure you have to go? You just got out of the hospital. I know several people in this house who would feel better if you wait a week."

"I'm fine. It's not like I'm not the one exploring this time." I sigh, the unease in this house has skyrocketed since I made my announcement last night. "Besides this has been put off for too long already."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Nuha says, worry radiating off her as well as sad acceptance. "You have the extra comm I got you."

"Yes, along with my specter one, the one Zeb gave me, the one Sabine gave me and my personal one. Is that enough, my Starlight?" I say, probably a little too huffy, but I've had this conversation nine times at this point. Twice of which were from her already.

"If you pack them in various spots on your person instead of your bag, it would be a start," Nuha says, dryly, reaching over and taking one, the specter one, of the comms out of my bag. She shifts back against the headboard. I shake my head, and soreness shoots through my shoulders. She has every reason to be nervous.

I lean over and kiss her nose. "Would you like to personally see to the placement?"

Nuha smirks, with an eyebrow, "Something tells me you'd like it more if I-"

"Lothcat 1 in position." David's voice comes from my old specter comm. A meow follows, no doubt from Shamira. "Lothcat 2 is as well."

I glance at Nuha. "Hold that thought." I sigh. Multiple kids are on the line. That can only spell trouble. "Hopefully, they aren't causing too much trouble."

"Know-it-al- Who wrote these codenames?" Kemen's voice comes through. Oh, good. David and Kemen don't cause too much-

"That'd be Twin Dum." Fajr's voice follows. Scratch that all the kids are working together. Only anarchy and chaos can ensue. Abort. Abort. Abort.

"Yeah, Twin Du- Hey, your Twin Dum. I'm Twin Dee." Aibek says back.

"Despite D being your grade in history class, I'd say Twin Dum is much better suited for you," Fajr says. Oh, harsh. Especially since it's not true. He pulled a C last semester. I don't know whether to scold her or be proud of that burn. So, I'll be both.

"Says-"

"Guys, focus." David orders. "Are you in position for Operation Stop This Trip?"

"I'm in position, and this is the last time the twins as naming anything," Kemen says.

"Twin Sun and Twin Moon are in position," Fajr says

I grab the old comm. "This is Specter 6. I'm in position and like to remind everyone that you are on an open line and that these are not toys. They are for emergency use only. Put them back and you may not be grounded." After a moment to pause and let them start internally screaming. "To be in effect after Kemen and I get back from our trip."

"Ah, kara-" Kemen start while Aibek and Fajr whine. David is silent, though.

I sigh, tossing the comm down.

"They're just worried about you," Nuha says.

"I know." I sigh, straddling her. I kiss her forehead.

She kisses me back. "When you get back, and I am never taking an 'if' on that, talk to them. Especially Fajr, she wrought she didn't know what she wants to be when she grows up on a homework assignment two days ago."

I sigh, "And she's wanted to be an archeologist since she was seven." I will have to talk to here. And everyone. But later. Right now, this moment is ours. "Now, that thought…" I smirk. Nuha laughs as I kiss a ticklish spot

"Uncle Ezra! Open comm!" Kemen's voice comes through the comm.

"Huh?" Aibek's voice responds.

"What's going on?" Fajr adds.

"Then put the comms away," I answer. "You have two minutes."

Nuha takes the comm, "Make it one and a half." I bark out a laugh, pulling her closer to me.

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, LordSkyjacker, for reviewing. Glad you liked the title. It was a bit of a joke, reflecting on the fact that this is the second or third time a temple has fallen on his head. I'd imagine that would get old fast. Thank you, Midnight, for reviewing. I hope you are feeling better. I have a few author's that deprive me of sleep as well. So, I feel your pain and am honored I am more important than sleep. But take care of yourself. I'd miss you if you were too sick to review. I'm in Tokyo. So yeah, I'm near Mt. Fuji, which is lovely. Though that isn't new for me. I grew up in Washington so I was surrounded by five major volcanos. Mt. Rainier, Mt. St Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker and Glacier Peak. One of these things is not like the other. You stay health. You get sick way too much for your own good. Thank you, Casstrum93, for reviewing. I am glad your thing with your dad went well. Your sister can't be that bad. At least compared to me. I burned the kluch my first time behind the wheel. The car smelled for a week.**


	33. I Won't Quit

**RUHLSAR000 Here! S'up y'all. Sorry for coming out a day late, but this took longer than expected. Yesh! The latter half was painful. But it did give me some time to watch too much Boku no Hero Academia and SAO abridged. Somehow that Kirito and Izuku seeped into Kemen. I am okay with that. As somehow, he became the least developed of the younger batch, the nickname for the second group of kids ie Kemen, David, and the twins. Anywho you know the drill.**

"'Trust me, you'll know it when you see it' he says. 'Everything and nothing' he says. What does that even mean?!" Kemen shouts in the half wrecked cavern that was once a temple, kicking a rock. "Okay." Kemen rubs the back of his head, the fuzz of hair pressing into his fingers. He'd have to let his mom shave his head when he gets back. Hairy lekku, as short as his are, is not a good look. "Focus. Breath, the Force is with me. It will guide me if I open myself to it. Ashla, Bogan, Bendu, that does not change." Kemen closes his eyes and breathes, letting the Force wash over him. It acts strangely here, though. Covering him like a blanket then like the sea and back to the blanket. Why-

"Well, it's good to know some of my lessons stuck."

Kemen spins around. "Uncle! What are you doing here?"

"I've never been good with patience." His uncle shrugs, walking ahead. "Come on."

That was a load of Bantha poodoo as far as Kemen was concerned. Sure, Ezra had a hard time waiting but that isn't the full extent of patience. No one not even his Jedi of a father, as patient as he is, is as patient as Ezra Bridger. He always let the younger batch fully explain what happened when they had gotten into trouble and if saw fit ran interference. He always helped all of them with homework or friends or anything, letting them figure out how to explain everything and giving good advice. Not that his father and mother didn't. But his father's time was eaten up by the Order. His mom's by the Resistance. They were always there but Master Skywalker and General Organa were less than understanding in Kemen's opinion. Ezra would disagree, explaining again why it was important. And Kemen knew with every bit of his being why it was important. It is hard though when you only get to see your father through a holo-comm call taken over dinner, so they were all eating together, for months on end. It isn't enough. But he can't complain. He's the Jedi and oldest of the younger batch. He's the example. "More like an example of a pole up my a-butt," Kemen mutters under his breath.

"Kemen, focus." Ezra scolds, lightly.

"Sorry… Master. This place it just draws everything out, like that sponge cartoon that stopped being good when I was seven but is still going on." Kemen says, with a huff.

"I know but-" Ezra cuts himself off, jumping and knocking them to the ground. A hooded figure with a red blade appears, black mask over his face. After a moment, two smaller blades grow from the hilt perpendicular to the blade.

Kemen feels himself being hauled up and shoved away from the figure. "Run!"

"But-" Kemen protest.

"Run-" Ezra is cut off by the lightsaber cutting through his chest. Ezra falls to the side with a thump.

"You'll pay-" Kemen growls out before screaming as he dodges the blade, falling off the unseen cliff.

He rolls as he hits the ground. He is sore and at the temple. At Luke's Jedi Temple. He can get help. Maybe his uncle can be saved.

"HELP! SOMEONE!" Kemen calls out running through the temple. "Anyone!"

Kemen bursts into the courtyard, filled with Padawans and a couple of knights Master Skywalker has trained since the fall of the Empire. "Help! My uncle, he's fighting a Knight of Ren or something!" Kemen burst out.

"Why should we?" A padawan a few years younger than Kemen asks. "He's not a Jedi."

"Does that matter? Look-" Kemen says, doing his best not to snark at someone he is trying to get help from but is cut off by one of the knights.

She says, "What are you even doing here? You're not even a member of the Order."

"Yes, I am. I am a padawan the same as them." Kemen protest, gesturing to the others. "And right now my master's in-"

"How can you be a Jedi if you're not learning from one?" Another calls out, condescendingly.

"What?" Kemen jolts back. This is pointless. "Look. If any of you wannabe LARPers want me gone, just tell me where my father is." His father will come running when he finds out one of his kids is in trouble. He always has, always will.

"Why? So, you can get one of the few Jedi left killed?" Another Padawan says, anger lacing their voice.

"No-"

"It's just like a non-Jedi Force user. Selfishness radiates through them." A Jedi says, arrogantly.

"Are you kriffing listening to yourselves? My uncle is dying and you're all squawking at me!" Kemen seethes. "This is ridiculous. A Jedi's duty is to help those in need and follow the will of the Force?!"

"How do you know saving your Dark-sider uncle is the will of the Force?" Another voice accuses.

"First, my uncle is a follower of the Bendu. There actually quite a bit of a difference. Not that you slack jaw mannon would understand that basic concept taught in Force Theory 101!" Kemen snaps, his voice lacing with sarcasm. "Second, if it wasn't, he'd have died in the kriffing quake a week ago!" Kemen lets out a breath of relief as he sees Master Skywalker. Kemen races to him, "Master Skywalker!"

"Young Jarrus, what are you doing here?" Master Skywalker asks, not condescending but confused.

"It's my uncle! He's in trouble! And everyone here is being an asshole." Kemen says, close to tears but fighting them off. Master Skywalker looks at him, sadly. "No…" Kemen's eyes widen as he staggers back.

"I'm sorry, Kemen. We just don't have the manpower to risk it." Master Skywalker looks at him sadly. "It would be best to accept it." For a moment, Kemen can tell if he is referring to Ezra or the impossibility of his dream, as the chants of "not a Jedi" circle around him.

Their voices get louder and louder. "SHUT UP!" Kemen commands. "I know I will never be like all of you. I will always think differently, be different. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. But guess what? That's not a bad thing. Yes, I'm not classically trained. But you know what? No one here is. No one can be because the only two Jedi in existence were only half trained themselves. And no one here can tell me I'm not a Jedi. I know I'm not yet. But I will become one. Because there is nothing I want to be more! So, shut up! And watch me become one."

"How can you become one if you constantly hide?" Someone accuse.

"I don't-" Kemen cuts himself off, thinking back over his training. Both his father and uncle were always there, helping him through it. His father always picking up his calls to help. Ezra always prepared to support him. That was their job. But he was going to face this when he properly joined the Order… "You're right. Uncle and Dad have always protected me. Prepared me with the hope I'd never have to use any of this stuff. And yeah, that's their job. But, I've been afraid to step out of that… I'm afraid of what people can say." That realization hit Kemen hard as he staggers away from them.

"Fear is the path to the Dark Side." The group chants.

"You trying to sell me something, because you act as if you're 'not' afraid," Kemen says, recalling what his family has said to him over the years. Be it advice for bullies or little encouragements.

 _You'll do amazin' thin's, kid…Uncle Zeb_

 _It's okay to be afraid. You just need to know when to stand… Dad_

 _If they won't listen, show them… Aunt Sabine_

 _You can be anything you want, just don't let anyone stop you… Mom_

 _Stop whining… Chopper_

 _You are a padawan. That doesn't come from out here. But in here. And no one can take that… Ezra_

"I will prove all those like you wrong!" Kemen shouts. "Because no one can stop me from achieving my dream! And when its time, everyone's teachings will help me face idiots like you. I am Kemen Jarrus, Padawan. And don't forget!"

The temple vanishes, as does the fear Kemen has been unknowingly suppressing for a long time. And though Kemen knows it will be back, he's fine with that. He knows how to banish it again. It was calming

Kemen looks around, "That's right. I'm on Lothal. Uncle did say this place kriff with your head… And I've sworn twice in the past five minutes. High school really has been a bad influence." He looks up where he fell down. "At least my siblings aren't here. Mom would have my hide." Kemen takes a few steps back. "And I'm talking to myself. Not like there's anyone else to talk too." He Force jumps to the top. He lands at the peak of his jump. The hooded figure is there, lightsaber already out. "Except for you…" Kemen breathes. "Of course, hoodie's here. Okay, safe to say you're a vision meant to test me mentally as well. That's other stuff with Uncle Ezra was too know doubt." The hooded figure walks right to him, raising his blade. "So, as long as I trust myself and my training, you can't touch me."

His blade comes down. Before it touches Kemen, the figure vanishes.

Kemen doesn't bother smirking or making some comment about being right, instead, falling back onto the ground. Exhaustion hits hard him as he lies on his back. It's more emotional and mental, but he still feels physically tired nonetheless. But there is a calm among the swirling knots in the Force. He is in the center.

Gently, the Force nudges at him. Kemen sighs, "Fine, but when this is over, I want a week long nap after this." He approaches the doorways. He feels more than sees the change. Or was it a change? Maybe he was just sensing it better.

The far left door, the one the Fake Ezra went through, has a knot of Ashla beyond it. That's why it felt wrong, Kemen realizes. Ezra, as kind and good as he is, is not a follower of the Ashla. The one on the far right contains a Bogan knot. And the center one is where their waves meet, the Bendu.

Well, Bogan door is out. Period. But… Logically, Kemen is training to be a Jedi, a follower of Ashla, so the Ashla door… But… Kemen breathes. He is learning from a follower of Bendu. And, as much as Uncle Ezra tries to stick to Jedi teachings, if he feels they are narrow-minded, he will teach the other side as well, letting Kemen decide which to listen to. It's always the Ashla, but that doesn't mean he has complete contempt for the Bogan. The Force needs both. The galaxy needs both.

Kemen breathes. The Force is silent, waiting. There is no right or wrong choice here, only the Force. Even so, Kemen can't help the feeling that this will define him, if not in the eyes of others, for himself. "So, I'm on my own here." So, who does he want to be…

It doesn't take more than a moment. "I will never be the person others expect me to be. It's silly to let them define me. But that doesn't mean I can't be the person I want to be." He approaches the middle door. Kemen smiles, "I am a Jedi, like my father. I will always favor the Ashla. But that doesn't mean I can't be open-minded, like my uncle. I carry their teachings, just as someday my student will carry their teaching. But in the end, I'm standing here fight for my future." As he enters the middle room, he can't help but feel a positive spark. He doesn't know if it is from his gut or the Force or if they are the same thing.

He pauses wondering if he exited the temple because stars surround him. No. He realizes after a moment. Not star, glowing crystals. Kyber crystals. He notices movement from above him. As he glances he sees a crystal, turning from a clear glow to a blue, then green glow. As it lands in his hand, it settles on-

 _A scream fills the air as rain barrels down on his shoulder. He's at a temple. There's-_ Kemen's _breath hitches as he sees a young girl shot. This… Is this the Jedi Purge? Kemen hears the sound of a lightsaber being drawn he spins around and sees the dark hooded figure in the mask… Could it be… Vader? He looks different in the history books but maybe he got the other mask later. After all, Palpatine had to have been training him in secret for a long time._ Kemen's _mind races, trying to process what he is seeing._

Kemen gasps, on the floor of the temple, aqua lightsaber crystal in hand. "No wonder Dad doesn't talk about it. That's horrible."

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, Specter7, for favoriting. Thank you, Midnight, for reviewing. Inner Fangirl, I think that might be a little counter productive. Anyway, have you seen Boku no Hero Academia, yet? It's really good. Maybe you can binge watch it next time you get stress sick so you don't move around too much. Thank you, Casstrum 93, for reviewing. Yes, yes he is. As for your sister, Kylo (that actually is a cute girls name), I hope she has the same luck as my brother ie he could walk into an intercection without getting hit, cause that's dangerous.**


	34. Kemen's Blade

**RUHLSAR00 Here! It's near midnight in Japan and I have somewhere to be tomorrow. Goodnight** **everybody.**

The completed lightsaber falls into Kemen's lap. Kemen looked up from where he had been meditating for who knows how long while making his lightsaber. He pauses to admire it. It's pretty. For a moment, Kemen can help but worry others are going to think it's girly, but he squashes it. The pieces were gifts from everyone when he became a Padawan a couple of years ago and they are him. It's elegant, with a gentle curve. Sabine had inlaid a golden metal into the casing, a pattern that looked like a cross between flames and feathers. A very subtle nod to their days in the Rebellion and a reminder of what it means to be a peacekeeper. It feels right in his hands, and that is what mattered.

Standing, Kemen looks around his Uncle's old room where seventeen years ago, his uncle was doing the same thing for the first time. It seems like a long time, Kemen notes, but it really isn't. And so much has changed. His uncle doesn't even carry a lightsaber anymore. With a sigh, he exits the room and heads out of the Ghost.

It's night now, but that's not stopping his uncle from playing with Lothcats as they swarm around. Kemen sits down beside him and spots a sleeping kitten in his lap. "What is it with you and animals?"

"They're nice and welcoming. They don't judge. You come to them with kind words and warmth they'll give it right back." Ezra smiles. "How's it coming?"

"Finished, but I wanted you to take a look first." Kemen comments, holding it out.

"I did the same thing with Kanan." Ezra smiles, accepting it. He gives off a pondering hum.

"What?" Kemen asked worriedly.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thing how mine was always pragmatic. Karabast, my first one was a blaster hybrid because I couldn't use it well at that point. This is elegant refine. The weapon of a peacekeeper in a time pretending to be civilized. It is very much you." His uncle smirks handing it back. "Go ahead."

Kemen ignites it vertically. The aqua blade lights up the night. "Why didn't you tell me about getting a cyber crystal?" He asks after a moment.

"I didn't get any for a warning." Ezra smiles. "Besides, if I had warned you, you would have been on the defensive." Ezra lies back into the grass.

Kemen deactivate the blade. Everything gets really dark. "What did you face?"

Ezra lets out a sigh. "Fear of Kanan dying. Fear of pity and rejection from the others."

"That fear of rejection started before your guilt complex?" Kemen asks stunned.

"Nope, I was raised on the streets. I may have put on a cocky front, but that messes with your self-esteemed in ways that I probably still should be seeing a therapist for." Ezra smiles.

Kemen sighs, falling back. "I understand in my head why you have to go to places like this. With so little knowledge of the Force out there, we all must pull together to preserve it. But…" Kemen cuts himself off, unwilling to cry in front of his master.

"You know, a wise person once told me, 'Once a secret is known it can't be unknown'," Ezra says, after a moment. "I don't look at it as preserving, Kemen. I see it as rediscovering knowledge lost not just in the Purge, but over the millennium the Jedi exist. The information is there, we just need to find out where there is." Kemen feels his uncle squeeze his hand. "I am sorry I worried everyone, though. And it's alright to admit to being scared. That's the first step to dealing with it. And honestly, it makes you braver than you'd think."

Kemen stares up at the sky. "I used to be afraid of a lot of things. The rumor that will start when I join the Order, properly. Facing those rumors. But that doesn't… It seems so small now. So unimportant now. And it will probably scare me later but… I think I can start preparing to face it on my own."

"You don't have to." Kemen feels a spike of fear in Ezra's Force signature but it is quickly suppressed.

"I think I will," Kemen admits. "The couple of idiots in the Order won't look at me if I hide behind someone."

"I know." Ezra sighs. "I think I afraid."

"Of what?" Kemen asks.

"You growing up." Ezra answers.

The honesty in his voice cuts off Kemen's witty retort. "I think I am too."

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, Gen Heart, for favoriting. Thank you, Appa the Greatest, for following. Thank you, Midnight for reviewing. Gosh dang it Girl! Take care of yourself. I am fresh out of sister repelent(probably cause I only have a brother) but I got a fancy lok on my door after he mom when on her yearly cleaning rampage and found two of my good necklaces and half a dozen of my thing I had been looking for. As for my other works, I fully intend to get back to them. The problem is those are about 20 each at minimuan. They are alot harder to get out when I am busy. But I promise you I will get back to them soon. As for remembering Ner Vod, you can always go back and reread it. I am pretty sure Boku no Hero Academia is on NEtflicks, but I know it is on youtube, both seasons so far.**


	35. A Reason to Find the Past

**RUHLSAR000 Here! And sorry for taking a long time! I got really busy as my internship came to an end. Also, next week I have to midterms, so don't expect anything next week, but after I'll try to get back to a regular update cycle and try to update other stories too.**

Our speeder races across the dried out lakebed that reminds me far too much of Tatooine for my taste. But, no, we aren't on Tatooine. We're in a small midrim system. "Where are we, Uncle?" Fajr asks, from the passenger seat handling the heat far better than I am.

"On Raidar." I roll my eyes, spying the tents in the distance. I turn the speeder towards them.

"What are we doing here?" Fajr asks, annoyed.

"I'm showing you what I do for about 40% of my missions for Master Skywalker," I say.

"Is it safe?" Fajr asks, almost hesitantly. And I really need to be more careful so the Todoka incident doesn't happen again.

"Relatively. Besides I won't let anything happen to you." I reassure her, pulling to a stop as we arrive.

"That's not what I'm worried about." Fajr channels her inner Hera.

"Dr. Jones!" I call out, spotting him in an excavation hole.

"Mr. Bridger." The archeologist hopes out of the hole. "Good. You know the season ends in a week."

"Then we'd better get started," I say as Dr. Jones adjusts his hat.

"General Solo!" Fajr says surprised. "What? Why?"

"Dr. Jones, this is my niece. I mentioned her in our call." I say, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, you did." Dr. Jones nods before kneeling down to her level. "Kid, I'm not General Solo. Though, I get that a lot. My name's Indiana, Indiana Jones. I am an archeologist. Your uncle often helps me when one of our sites turns out to be Force related."

"Um…" Fajr looks at war between her thinly veiled fascination and fear.

Dr. Jones turns and shouts across the holes. "Mudd. Why don't you take the little lady to Grid 53 and show her the tools of the trade?"

Dr. Jones's son's head pops up out of a different hole. "Yeah, sure." He crawls out the hole with none of the grace of his father.

"He's getting better." Dr. Jones said. Then in a slightly hushed tone, he continues, "Now, you going to tell me why you and Master Skywalker insisted on coming along. A few weeks ago you guys seemed to think this site to be of little interested to the New Order. And from what I'm finding, that seems to be a fair assessment. We've found one or two esoteric symbols but the symbols are also taken in other Force-based religions."

"Agreed, that nothing ties to the Jedi or other doctrines we could examine." I nod, then glance around before nodding to a tent. Dr. Jones takes the hint leading us into the tent. After the flap closes, I say. "We've found a map. We think it leads to the home of the Jedi."

"Jedi or Je'daii?" Dr. Jones asks, being one of the few men who can understand the difference.

"Both," I answer, causing his eyebrows to shoot up.

"Tython?" He asks, rubbing the back of his head. "That's a heck a find. Any reason you haven't contacted me before to plan an expedition there?"

"The map is incomplete. But one of the last worlds marked on the path was this world." I pick up a broken piece of tile from the desks. That could be an Ashla symbol or four dozen other symbols.

"So, another adventure?" Dr. Jones smirks in a way that only temple searching can get him to.

"Yeah, Kanan and Hera and everyone… almost everyone… has made me promise not to go near another one for a while after one collapsed on my head. Again." I rub the back of my neck.

"What is it? The fifth time?" Dr. Jones smirk, amused.

"Sixth. And why are you harassing me? Haven't you had like nine fall on you?" I toss back.

Dr. Jones rolls his eyes, "Yeah, well-" A shout comes from outside followed by the sound of a ruckus. Did bandit- Fajr!

Dr. Jones is already rushing out of the tent and I'm not two steps behind. A crowd is growing just outside the grid in the direction, where Fajr and Mudd were heading.

That group is out of the way quicker than anything I have experienced, whether that is due to them not wanting to get in between a parent and pseudo-parent/uncle and the kid or said parent and pseudo-parent/uncle, I can't say.

Fajr and Mudd are alright! I sigh in relief as I see them in sand uncovering a box-shaped stone the size of my head. Dr. Jones sighs in relief, "I thought I said Grid 53."

"Yeah, but she wanted to dig here. I didn't think there'd be a problem. But look what Fajr found!" Mudd says, dusting off the stone. A familiar pattern emerges.

"It's a holochrom!" I kneel down. A dead one, but it is without a doubt. That means-

"Looks like your niece found your temple." Dr. Jones said. "Good job, Little Lady." Fajr beams up at him. "Alright, we need to extend the grid, about a hundred meters, you know the direction. Hurry up, we only have a week left."

Fajr jumps up, "What can I do to help?"

"Why don't you see if you can use your feelings to find anything else?" Dr. Jones asks.

"RIGHT!" Fajr smiles, way too excited to actually get into the necessary meditative state.

The afternoon passes in a whirlwind but we eventually have to call it quits as the last rays of light steal sight from everyone who is not Force-sensitive.

As Fajr sits next to me roasting a piece of meat on the fire, I can't help but smile. "So, what did you think of your first day?" I ask.

Fajr frowns and is quiet for a minute. That's strange she was having a blast all afternoon. "You know… I read Dr. Jones's work on the excavation of Cai'ro… Looking at pictures of the structures… They look very worn but it's nothing compared to seeing it in person." She moves the piece of meat away from the fire. "Too cold, too hot, dust and sand moisture. All of these can destroy these sites. It's a race against time to figure everything out before we lose that one little key to the knowledge." She sighs.

"That's very insightful," I comment. I hadn't realized how seriously she'd been taking her archeologist dream.

"We've already lost so much information on the Force…" She sighs. "In my head, I get why you have to go on these missions. And that they aren't normally as dangerous but…"

"You're scared." I finish, wrapping my arm around her. "You don't have to tell me. Believe me, I know how it is. I've spent my life doing stupid stuff because I was afraid of my family getting hurt. And you know what I've learned?"

"What?" Fajr asks.

"It's okay to listen to fear, Fajr. It's that little voice that says 'be careful' or 'I love them'. The key is that you can't let it stop you from doing what is important enough to you and to the galaxy." I explain, struggling to phrase it in a way that she can't interrupt as being reckless in her later teens.

"I think I get it," Fajr says, moving the meat back over the fire.

"You've read one of my papers?" Dr. Jones asks, surprised.

"Multiple. Though, I am trying to match your findings in Do'om of the temple and settlements time frame with Dr. Scarle's suggestions of a more nomadic people." Fajr says.

I resign myself to understanding every fourth word from here on out.

 **Thank you time! Thank you, Spector7, for favoriting. Thank you, Gen Heart, for following. Thank you, TheFoxDude, for following. Thank you, emalinewilson2023, for reviewing. Yes, I know. Doesn't change the fact that for the entire first season I heard 'karablast' and wrote it karablast in Ner Vod forever for consistency. So I apologize for annoying you with an accident slip here and there. I'm human too. Thank you, Midnight Luna, for reviewing. Hey, how have you been? I hope you haven't been getting too sick recently.**


	36. Bad Kid

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Okay, confession time. I drew from my own personal difficulties and learning issues. One of my biggest issues was communication and understand social cues, something that is hard enough when you're not diagnosed with learning disabilities in that area. I couldn't even understand my own cues when it came to anger, let alone explain why I was getting frustrated. The sad thing is my school district was actually one of the best schools districts in the state with regards to dealing with learning disabilities. Look this author's note is long enough, if Aibek sounds stupid or like a spoiled brat, just know I'm speaking through a nine-year-old who has issues with communication and am dealing with still very strong emotions about how people handled not only my social learning difficulties but other kids as well. We weren't bad kids but we were treated as such because we didn't know how to process our feelings. And I generally got off light because everyone knew I was a goody two shoes.**

I open the door to my bedroom, with a sigh. Aibek is lying on my bed reading a datapad. That's not exactly surprising. With Hera taking the Ghost on a mission, private space is at a premium in the house. "Hey Aibek," I smile dropping my travel bag.

"You going to yell at me, too?"Aibek snaps, turning away from me.

"Oh boy, what happened?" I sigh, sitting down next to him. "Am I going to have to plan some overly complicated activity to explain why I have to go out and aid in the recovery of Jedi artifacts?"

"Nah, I've seen the Archives at the Temple. They need all the help they can get." Aibek tries to hold back a chuckle and fails. He puts down the datapad, rolling onto his stomach.

"So, have your siblings. That didn't help them." I smirk, lying down next to him. "Then again you do have a tendency to think further down the road than they do." He smiles at the comment. "So, why are you hiding?"

"I… I got into a fight." Aibek sighs, hunching his shoulder. "Sort of…"

"Sort of? Did someone sort of get hurt?" I raise an eyebrow, hiding any of my worry behind a wall of nonjudgement.

"I may have grabbed Anyiof to make him hurt." Aibek looks down. Anyiof… That was one of his main bullies. He's been calling him names and stupid kriff like that for over a year. Kanan and Hera have already yelled at the school for this multiple times. It's still a kriffing problem.

"Do you regret it?" I ask.

"Depends on what he does Monday." Aibek sighs, "Look go ahead chew me out. But he's been mean to me for years and no one's done anything. I… I…"He buries his head in the pillow. After a moment whimpering comes out.

"Hey, hey. It's okay." I wrap an arm around his shoulder.

He's mumbling something into the pillow. After a moment of focusing, I can make out, "I'm not a bad kid… I'm not a bad kid…"

"No, you're not." I coo gently.

"I just… He kept saying I should be the servant in the school pay because I'm a twi'lek. I didn't even know I was getting mad until I say red and… well… you know."

"Did you try the strategies?" I ask and am promptly met with a frustrated scream into a pillow.

"They don't work. Breathing, counting to ten, removing yourself from the situation. What are those supposed to do! Breathing and counting do nothing. And that's even if I can remember to do them! Do you know how hard it is to remember anything when your busy yelling because the only thing filling your mind is how angry you are?"

"It's close to impossible," I admit. "Which is why you use them before you get mad."

"And how am I supposed to know that? One second I think I'm fine the next I'm in the middle of an explosion." Aibek groans frustrated. "And then the teacher says 'Calm down, Aibek' like it's the simplest thing. I would if I could. I hate it. I hate being like that. I hate being out of control. I hate the way people stare. I hate how everyone thinks I'm bad. I'm not bad… I just don't know what to do. And no one is helping me learn. They only send me where the bad kids go to fill out those stupid smiley charts that I can't do because I went to 0 to angry in under a second."

"The speech therapist office is in the detention room." I deadpan. They can't be that stupid. He's not a bad kid. He just behind on the development of social skills. It's a part of his general learning disabilities. That is literally asking for an association between punishment and calming down to be built.

"Nope and neither is learning strategies, but the calm down area share space with the detention." Aibek rants. "And that also wrecks the strategy of removing yourself from the situation, too. Because where are you supposed to go? Both Learning strategies and Ms. Reed are busy with other students. They wouldn't be able to help anyway. The hall and the calm down area are where bad kids go. And you can only go to the bathroom for so long before missing important stuff in class." Aibek's voice breaks as he ends. He's not a bad kid. He just doesn't know what to do and has lost all faith in the system that should be helping him learn. He's nine kriffing years old.

I cloak my frustrations. "I take it you haven't told your father about what triggered this explosion?"

"He wouldn't care… He'd just tell me to meditate and 'release my anger into the Force'." Aibek sighs.

"Are you kidding? Heads are going to roll." I say, with a chuckle. I shouldn't be finding the idea of that quite so satisfying. Then again, the school should bloody figure out how to deal with emotional bullying already. "What are you working on by the way?" I pick up the datapad. I looked to be some sort of piano app.

"Nothing," Aibek says grabbing the datapad. "You really think he'd care?"

"Aibek, your father loves you so much. He may have trouble with showing that he will always be on your side, but he is." I smile, ruffling his head.

 **So, yeah. Kanan is going to rip the admin apart when he finds out. I feel a little awkward posting this after this week's episode. But the next WHF chapter takes place after this on and Ner Vod's next chapter won't be ready until tomorrow or Sunday... Well, now you all have to badger me about it if I don't hold that up. Beyond that, I like to pretend he is still alive and having all the headaches child rearing entails.**

 **There is a hole in my heart that has caused me intense pain for the last few days. I don't kn- No, I hate this. I understand it from a storytelling perspective and while I will agree with the woman on Rebels Recon that it was logical for the growth of the other, I hate it. I respect it, but I hate it. And I bloody saw it coming when I realized there was only about one episode of Kanan shots in the mid-season trailer but I tried to deny it saying that there are four years or so between Yoda's (could be fake) ultimatum and the end of Rebels.**

 **So, here's a fun fact about me. I like using significate name meanings when I write and am highly interested in name meanings. And in Star Wars does place importance on names. So, when Rebels first came out I looked up everyone names. My default site listed two possible meanings for Caleb. The first one I didn't see any connection until recently, so I assumed the second was what they were going for which is "whole heart" or "all of heart". But the first meaning was "dog". There is definitely a strong connection between Kanan and Wolf Dume.**

 **Thank you, everyone, for reading that long AN. And thank you, Midnight Luna, for being the only person to write me reviews recently. So clearly my assessment of Kanan surviving was wrong. But FYI, the last episode has Family Reunion in the title. Me thinks we are going to see Kanan in some form again. Glad you liked Indiana Jones. It started out as just being a random archeologist but when that hit my brain there was no going back.**


	37. Arguments

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Are you pumped for Monday?! My brother actually came up with a really interesting idea. What if when the temple was destroyed Ezra became the portal? As Bendu says knowledge can't be unknown. Plus, closing the portal clearly did more to Ezra than opening it. And it would be a pretty cool way to further Ezra's development while also explaining why Ezra is not made known to Luke. This knowledge would need to be protected no matter the cost. Do I think this is the case? Probably not. But I kind of want it too. Besides this last week's**

"Kanan it's seventeen hundred on a Friday. No one's going to be-" Kanan slams the door behind him as he heads out to terrify some poor secretary and demand to see the principle at Aibek's school, despite the principle being long gone. "Monday is going to be fun for them." Hera's due back Sunday night and I can already hear her rant. "Guess it's my turn to make dinner." I enter the unusually quiet common area. Kemen is meditating out on the back patio. Fajr is working on some ancient civilization identification problems Dr. Jones gave her. I may have recruited a new member of the Jedi Artifact Preservation Squad. Am I surprised? Not at all. Aibek is still grounded, so the Holoprojector is off, but he seems enraptured by his app.

David is typing away on his keyboard. "Hey, Bud. I seem to be in charge of dinner tonight. What do you feel like?" David takes a deep breath before continuing to type. "What are you working on?" David flicks up the keyboard before getting up and walking out of the room. I follow him. "Hey!" I grab his shoulder, "What is with you today? You haven't said a word since I got back."

"Oh, so you care about that." He says with as much sarcasm as an eleven-year-old can muster and pulls away.

Yeah, no. I pull him back to face me. "Of course, I care, David. What made you think otherwise?"

"Oh, I don't know maybe that fact that as soon as you were out of the hospital you went gallivanting off on not one but two missions. You didn't care about how worried we were. You didn't care that Dad practically had an ulcer while you were gone. You didn't care the Fajr wasn't sleeping."

"Okay, that is false. Kanan understood why I needed to go and agreed with me, in spite of his worry. And that whole second trip was because Fajr wasn't sleeping." I say.

"And what about me?! You just left without any concern about me!" David shouts. "Do you know what it was like?! Waking up in the middle of the night to your voice and then feeling our bond weaken? Looking at Kemen while he pales a moment later? Rushing to Dad only for him to leave! And then the waiting! The waiting! I thought I'd go mad!" He's crying now. I wrap my arms around him and pick him up. He struggles and he is getting far too big for this, but I don't release him. Not until we are in his and Kemen's room and I've closed the door behind us.

David glares at me, which hurt, though I have imagined worse glares in my nightmares. "I'm sorry. I put you through that David." I sigh. "But I…" The thing is I do have a choice, it's just not a good one.

"You don't care about me. You've never cared. That's why you abandoned me! You're running away. Well news flash, coward, I'm not going to go away!" David accuses, throwing a pillow at me. Pain fills my chest and I look down. It feels like something is crushing my heart while trying to rip it apart. "And I'm not some toy for you-" David cuts himself off.

"David, I was a drunk when you were born and I enjoyed hurting Stormtroopers. It was stupid… Something along the lines of I can make them suffer like the Empire's made me. I was constantly low on funds, barely had enough for myself. And I'd drink the remainder. I tried to clean up when I knew you were going to be born. And I succeed a little, but I was still a fricking mess and with Don… Bottom line, it wasn't safe for you to be with me. I wasn't safe." I take a deep breath whipping away the tears. "It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. And I was a mess afterward, sinking further to drink. It was months later that I finally hit a wall and resolved to do whatever it takes to maybe one day be worthy of knowing you." I look at David. He is crying, too, and looking rather ashamed. I pull him into my arms. He doesn't fight me. We sit there for who knows how long. If I could I would never let him out of my arms. "David, when I go out on these missions, you are all I can think about. You're Force-sensitive, David, and it can be dangerous to be that. If one bit of lost information can help you, Kemen, Fajr or Aibek then I will do everything I can to get it for you."

"I know, Father… I know" David sighs. "I just don't want to lose you again."

"That's not going to happen," I say. "Even if I'm dead I will still find a way to be with you."

David cries harder. "I know, I know you gave me up because you had to… I'm sorry…."

"It's okay…" I rub his back. "I love you, David. Always."

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, edvis93, for following. Thank you, Kiku-Goldenflower, for favoriting and reviewing. I hope this was fluffy enough for you. I really know that feeling. Caleb means loyal, interesting... Kanan most certainly was loyal. I hope Ner Vod's new chapter was good enough after that wait. Thank you, Midnight Luna and Fangirl, for reviewing. I love all the work you have done so far and am excited to see where doubt goes. And thank you for the support. The sad thing is I actually had a relatively easy time with the special ed system because I made friends with the teachers and was openly a hard working goody-two-shoes. This afforded me a lot of slack. I don't blame the teachers. I feel the training for special ed kids isn't always the greatest as a lot of these kids having issues communicating their feelings. That and being a teacher, especially a special ed one, is a high burn out jobs. Thank you, Booklady, for reviewing. From one "bad kid" to another, hang in there. And if you ever need to vent, I am always free to listen. Also, Kanan and Hera tearing into the admin while Ezra grabs the popcorn is a kriffing amazing image. Thank you, SonYukiGoku'sSister, for reviewing, twice on the same chapter. I am not sure how that happened. It's okay that you haven't reviewed. You're busy and have a life. I get it. I, however, am in college and have no life. I do love Ezra's dynamic with the children and I think everyone can agree with wanting an "Ezra" in their life. As for grammar, I will say I am doing my best. I proofread at least once, and run each chapter through two separate grammar processors. Do I still make mistakes? I can tell you with absolute certainty, yes. Can they be embarrassingly stupid? Again, yes. By the way, did you proofread your last review? Sorry, that just had me laughing while I was reading. If that's you're only critic, than I'm happy. And I will continue to try and improve it.**


	38. Fathers

**RUHLSAR000 Here! How are you all doing? That series finale. I noticed Jacen has Kanan's eyebrows. Cute details. Here's more cuteness to help revive those who are still reeling from the finale. Also, I am going to keep up the habit of writing a new fic after every season. Expect a Jacen Syndulla fic soon.**

I lie on the couch staring up at the ceiling. "Alright, Kid, what's up?" Kanan says sitting on the couch.

I sigh, "I'm that obvious, huh?"

"Well, you have been moping for a week and are now at the point that you've lied down on the couch without any way to get up," Kanan says. "Now, talk. You are literally pinned to the therapist's couch right now."

I groan realizing he's right, my emotional state has made using the Force to walk far more unreliable, to the point where I needed to primarily rely on the chair. Even when working at the diner, which is annoying. And in my sheer stupidity, I lied down without think of a way to get up without the Force.

"David and I had an argument." I sigh, knowing better than to not spill my guts to Kanan. It only took twenty years. Man, I am kriffing dense. How do they put up with me?

I feel a flick on my forehead. "You're moping," Kanan says. "You and David had a fight? That's news to me."

"It was quick," I admit. "But it brought out my past and shoved in my face what a kriffy father I am."

"Kid, you are not a kriffy father," Kanan says, dead serious.

I can't help but snort. "I was a drunk. I abandon David for the first seven years of his life. Kark, I was a dark-sider, if that isn't an automatic spot on the kriffy father list, nothing is."

"No, you aren't. Karabast, Kid. You're a better father than I am." Kanan says.

I look at him stunned. I can't speak for a moment. "Bantha fodder."

"It's true, kid. You get the kids in ways I never can." Kanan says.

"Again, Bantha fodder." I roll my eyes.

"Aibek." Kanan sighs.

"Ah… Alright, I'll give you that." I sigh. "Which we do need to fix."

"How- We are focusing on another of my kids right now. That's next." Kanan says. "Kid, you've made mistakes. We all have. Heck, I bet at the height of my alcoholism I could out drink you at your peak. Does that make me a bad dad?"

"You didn't have a kid at that point, Kanan," I sigh.

"And you cleaned up for him." Kanan squeezes my shoulder. "If that doesn't earn you a rock star dad award nothing will. Now, you can either wallow in the past or be that rock star dad and focus on the here and now."

I smile releasing my feelings into the Force, pushing myself up. "Right. Though, Kanan, you were wrong about one thing." Kanan gives me a sideways glance, more to convey emotions than anything else. "I'm not a better father than you. I should know, after all, you raised me."

Kanan chuckles, "We'll agree to disagree."

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, annedxd, for following. Thank you, Court818, for favoriting. Thank you, Midnight Luna and Inner Fangirl, for favoriting and reviewing. Well, my brother's theory may or may not be right depending on if they only thought the temple was still the door. I am going to stop this before I have forty different stories. How are you holding up? *Ducks behind floodgates* Thank you, SonYukiGoku'sSister, for reviewing. Yeah, I was just heckling you. As for Ezra being terrified of turning back into what he was, you're pretty close. Ezra knows that fear can lead to the Dark Side even if it is of the Dark Side itself. He's also recognized that there is a place for it in the galaxies order. But when it comes down to it he knows it a slippery slope, especially for him, better than anyone and never wants to be in that place again. So, yeah, he is afraid but he knows he is afraid and tries not to react on those impulses. That's part of the reason he is so honest about his past. First, deception is the way of the Dark Side. Second, he can't lie to himself if he's not lying to others. And three, if he can help others, he feels, that is a good path towards his redemption (Idoit doesn't see he's there is spades...)**


	39. Family Trees

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Sorry about missing last week. I was moving. Enjoy.**

Hera fingers her Kali'kori as she read its marking. "I guess I should be grateful we didn't have to do this for Kemen." She says as she writes down her nine times great grand mother's name on a small stiff sheet of paper bordered in green. I glance at the family tree wire model standing in the middle of our living room. It's four feet tall already and not everyone has been put on it yet.

"I'm grateful that Father's family blows past the time minimum," David says, attaching a purple ribbon, the color we designated for a master-padawan relationship, between Csylin Myr and Mace Windu in the glob of a base. That is the farthest Kanan's "line" goes back. I follow the purple line down to Kanan after which it twists together with a yellow ribbon, pseudo-adoption, to me. The yellow and purple ribbon continues to Kemen, while just yellow goes to the twins and blue goes to David, who is attached to Kanan and Hera by a green ribbon.

"Yeah, if that were a problem, I'd have challenged," Sabine says looking at the model, no doubt mentally reworking it into a piece of art. "Cause Hera's family clearly goes back at least two hundred years, even if the dates weren't recorded." Well, she's not wrong. Right now there are two horns from Hera and mine's families coming out of the massive interlocking maze of wire that is the most recent four generations or so.

"Yeah, well, Mr. Tomburn is mean. And this already is bending the rules because this is not a poster." David says.

"Not like we could help it," Zeb says, looking through Kallus's family tree. "We're not exactly a 'normal' family."

"Need any help, Zeb?" I ask. He has to sort through two family trees since Kallus was stuck in some administration deal on Hosnian.

"Nah, I don't have to go through two thousand years of family history," Zeb says.

"It's not that bad. I'm helping!" Fajr bounds up from the datapad containing the Aditi family tree. "Uncle Ezra, why does it say Lady Mara Deklah Elisheba married Prince Cornelius Rudolph, Duke of Cothl? I thought that Lothal was a republic at this point in time?" She hands me the datapad.

I scratch my head, raking my head for Lothalian history lessons. "Ah, there was about seven hundred years after Lothal became independent where we were a constitutional monarch. This must have been during that time."

"Cool. Do you know why it stopped?" Fajr asks.

"I don't know. Why don't you look it up on the holonet?" I ask, faking interest. And she races off to find out more. "And there goes my help. Remind me to go drag her away from her datapad in three hours."

David rolls his eyes, "Oh, come on Father, it is interesting that in another life, you could have been a Duke or something-"

The doorbell rings. I roll my eyes. "I got it." I set down the glue stick.

When I open the door, I see someone who looks distinctly bounty hunter, helmet under one arm, a box under the other. It takes a moment to register the Black Sun insignia. "What the Kriff is a Black Sun doing here?!" I shout, sinking into a defensive stance. Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb are by my side in an instant. I sense Hera rushing David behind her.

"I'm not here for bounty today." The man says, "And we have a preference of working within the Republic."

"So why are you here?" Sabine says, not lowering her blaster.

"I have business with Ezra Bridger." He says. I feel Sabine glance at me and Kanan sends a feeling of confusion to me. I echo it back.

"Yeah. Why?" I say. Then it kriffing hits me. Who is the one karking person I know who has any association with the Black Sun? "What the kark did Donny do?" I all but growl out.

He suddenly seems uncomfortable. "Would you step outside?" I don't move. I'm not stupid. If she got me in some sort of trouble, I'll need my family with me. He takes a deep breath. "At 1700 on the twenty-fifth, Blacksun Member Donna Troy was killed on an unregistered bounty." Huh? It feels like he said gibberish.

"What?" What language is he speaking...

"She named you-" He continues, but I cut him off.

"No, she can't be…" Donny...

"I'm sorry for-" He says, again.

"She's too stubborn to die. Too much of an A-hole." I say. There has to be a mistake. She's just trying to kriff me over, again. Right?

He shrugs like he thinks my assessment has merit. "Be that as it may, she is dead." No… It's not possible. I feel Kanan's hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry for your lost. She named you executor of her will."

"Why? We've only spoken once in… over a decade." I shake my head. Oh, this can't be happening... "And that was because she nearly bombed my family…" He opens my mouth, but I cut him off again. "No, you know what? I am not surprised. She has no one else." I take a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He says, handing off the box. "She left her will and a few things in her drop box." He looks uncomfortable.

"Thank you… Have a good day." I say, weakly, taking the box. I step back closing the door.

"Ezra?" Sabine asks, worried. I ignore her. My oldest friend is dead. I walk back into the living room.

"Kid?" Zeb asks, confused. The woman I once loved is dead.

"Father?" David asks, looking at me. Oh, Force. My son's mother is dead. My son will never know his mother. Which is good but… He will never know his mother. "Who's Donna Troy?" He doesn't even know…

I take a deep breath and approach David's project. I quickly write Donny a card and attach it and the proper ribbons to it. Before anyone can say anything, I retreat into my room, locking the door behind me. I promptly fall to the floor and begin to cry. I am so stupid. Why do I care? I've moved on. I've…

Kriff you, Donny. Even when your dead your hurting me.

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, S carta, for following and favoriting. Thank you, SonYukiGoku'sSister, for reviewing. Yeah, for some reason that name has worked its way into a default character name for me. Have no clue why. I'm not a big Wonder Girl fan. I've always preferred other characters. I just like the name. I normally catch it and change the name before publishing but that didn't happen this time. Thank you, Midnight Luna, for reviewing. The Jacen fic is coming and should be out soon. Thank you, All Things Animated, for reviewing.**


	40. Goodbye, My Friend

**RUHLSAR000 Here! Sorry for no Ner Vod this week. I didn't get anything done on the plane to and from London like I intended. I am planning on swapping Ner Vod and WHF's release date though. So, heads up. Still working on when Jacen will be updated. So let me know your thoughts.**

I sigh, fiddling with the datachip marked 'Will' in the scratches Donny insisted on calling handwriting. Donny's box is dumped out on my bed. To my utter surprise among the various datachips and credits were two additional items. One was my mother's wedding ring. I honestly had thought she had hawked it years ago when I told her to stay away. There's also the chrono she swiped from Ferpil when she left Lothal at twelve. "Get a grip, Ezra!" I scold myself. I am done with her, have been for years. But…

 _I couldn't stop smiling as Ferpil turned back to his stock. He hadn't noticed. After a month of practice, he finally hadn't noticed. Donny was glaring at the datapad, trying to read through it. Her brow was furrowed in frustration. "How's it going?" I teased._

 _Without looking up, she flipped me off. "Hey, Sticklegs, what happened to your chrono?" She smirked. She couldn't give me five minutes?_

 _Ferpil looked down. "Reall,y Donny?"_

 _"Not this time," Donny set down the datapad._

 _Ferpil looked up at me. I blushed, holding up the chrono. Ferpil smirked, before ruffling my hair. "Good job, Kid!"_

 _"We might make a proper loth-rat out of you, yet," Donny smirked, playfully hitting his arm._

My friend is dead. No matter how bad it ended, I am allowed to hurt. I am allowed to grieve.

With a sigh, I slip the chip into the datapad and Donny's image appears on the screen. She adjusts the camera for a good minute. She's stalling for some reason. But it allows me to see the changes that have occurred since we last parted. Her hair has evened out from that limp Mohawk she used to wear and wrinkles had under her eyes.

"Kriffing grow a pair, skutta." She growls under her breath. After taking a breath, she starts. "If you're seeing this... Well? Kriff happens." She laughs weakly. "Look, Ezra. Before I get down to business. I… You've always been better than me. Gooder than me. You deserve more love than I could give. And when we were together, I was afraid you'd realize it. So, I acted out. Said things, did things, that I regret and that I regret hurt you. I knew it, and still I couldn't…" She's crying now and that hurts more than it should. "That doesn't excuse what I did at all and I know that. That's why I stayed away after… Just know, I am sorry. And I love you. If nothing else, please know that." I did. Know that in her own way she did love me. Donny sighs, "Kriff. I am too much of a bloody coward to even say this to your face. But I suppose-" She looks down and breeze. A pained look crosses her face, but she shakes it away. "I have already purchased a space next to Ferpil. You can ignore it if you want. I am dead after all. But I'd like to be next to him. He…" She wipes away tears. I don't think I've ever seen her cry before… And it's been decades since his death. "He's the closest thing I ever had to a parent. You two were the only family I ever had. As for my possessions, for my chrono, I leave that to Ezra Bridger. I leave my wedding ring to Nuha Ziyad. It's properly hers should be hers anyway." She wiggles the ring in question on her finger in the video. How- She was spying on me. Of course, she was. I take a deep breath, not allowing my nerves to fray. "I know I'm a kriffing person who has done nothing good in her life. So, let me do one good thing. You don't need to tell him about me, but I bequeath the remainder of my possessions to David Jarrus-Bridger. Use them to set up a college fund or something. So, Ezra, that's it. I love you. And goodbye."

I turn off the datapad with a sigh. A knock comes from the door. I open it with the Force. David walks in. "Hey…" He seems hesitant.

I pat the bed next to me. "Would you like to hear about her?" He nods hoping down next to me.

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, Ghostboy95, for following and favoriting. Thank you, Midnight Luna, for reviewing. As for Kallus and Zeb's relationship, I am finally on board with that ship after Zeb's touching Kallus in the finale. It took me a while because I tend to be very careful with relationships because the creators are trying to craft 3d characters and ignoring the characters' canon like and sexuality when shipping can feel disrespectful to a lot of people. But that touch along with several subtle things in the episode put me over the edge. Yeah, I think they are together. And I am good with it. We need more GOOD representation. Thank you, All Things Animated, for reviewing. I know you are trying to be helpful and want me to improve and I thank you for it. But giving me a vague "there are grammar mistakes" is not overly helpful. While I'm doing my best here, I am human. I make mistakes. I am proofreading it and running it through two grammar processors, but I know things will slip through.**


	41. Dinner Out

"Hey Kids," Mari smiles at the kids as they enter the diner. She tosses the rag she had been using to clean the counter over her shoulder.

"Hey, Mari!" They say in unison.

"What brings you here?" Mari smiles.

"Mom's working late. Nuha's on a business trip. Dad's on an emergency call with the temple. And Ezra's helping…" David pauses not knowing where his father has been called to this time. Recently, they seem to be occurring with increasing frequency. "Someone. So, we're on our own for dinner."

"Well, hopefully, Ezra'll come back soon." Mari rolls her eyes. "I need at least one waiter whose not green behind the gills. A loud crash echoes from the other side of the diner. Mari sighs. "Sit where ever, kids." She marches towards the crash. "Kriff it, Taylor."

"Don't repeat that word," Kemen says to the twins as they slide into a booth.

The ten-year-old girl blinks up at him with fake innocence, "What's wrong with 'Taylor'?"

"Hopefully, nothing." A blonde sixteen-year-old in an apron and an armful of menus says. David's mouth dries up as he stares at the waiter. "I'm Taylor. I'll be your waiter for today." Taylor hands them the menus. David's slip through his hand. A blush of embarrassment spreads across his face as he picks up and buries his head in it. Kemen smirks in amusement as his brother squirms. "I'll give you a moment to look over the menu while I grab you guys some water."

Kemen struggles not to chuckle, "Please take all the time you need."

David's eyes follow the waiter as Taylor heads to get them water.

"You think they're cute?" Aibek asks, eyebrows shooting up.

"No! Well yes, but…" David says.

"Okay! Leave it to me!" Aibek smiles. Fajr and Kemen burst out laughing.

"Aibek! Please no." David says as Taylor comes back.

"Please do!" Kemen says. His laughter starts again as Taylor returns.

"Is there anything else I start you off with?" The waiter smiles.

"Are you single?" Aibek asks.

"Oh, First Light! Aibek you can't just ask that!" David protests.

"He just did," Kemen says barely repressing a smirk.

"No worries." Taylor smiles. "I have two siblings of my own. And to answer your question. Yes, I am single but I think you're probably a little young to be dating."

"I'm not asking for me. I'm asking for David!" Aibek blurts out.

David slowly sinks under the table. Fajr places a hand on his shoulder and pushes him further down.

"And just to make everything clear." Kemen deadpans, "David is the one doing a fantastic impression of the bench cushions. Can I get a chocolate milkshake, two cokes, and a sprite? One veggie burger, two regular burgers with ketchup only and a smokehouse with extra bacon on it? Did I miss anything?" He looks around the table.

David looks about as red as the cushions. Fajr just shakes her head. "Wow! We're predictable."

"Got it." The waiter smiles before heading back to the kitchen.

"Aibek, you can't do things like that." Kemen sighs. "No matter how funny it is." A crumpled up napkin hits him in the face. Kemen meets David's glare.

"Why not?" Aibek asks, looking at David. "If you like him then you should just ask. You're making this way more complicated than it needs to be."

"No, I'm not. It's not that simple." David says, before turning to Kemen with a sigh. Aibek didn't mean to embarrass him. "You know Father calls smokehouse burgers 'heart attacks on a bun', right?" David says.

"I know, but what Uncle Vegetarian doesn't know won't hurt him." Kemen smirks, reaching over and ruffling his hair.

"Hey!" David swats the hand away. "Father always knows. Like Mom always does. Especially if someone tells him." He glances at Aibek.

"Hey, don't look at me. I'm not stupid." Aibek rolls his eyes. "I'm not going to tell. Fajr on the other hand…"

"Hey!" Fajr huffs kicking him under the table. "Of the two of us, who is getting mentored by a University professor, Dork Breath?"

"That's only because of Uncle Ezra, Bantha Brain. And I am not a 'Dork Breath'!" Aibek snaps back.

"Should we stop them?" David looks at Kemen.

"Are they hurting anyone?" Kemen shrugs before changing the subject. "So, have you heard back from that publisher?"

"Rejected." David sighs, fiddling with his glass of water. That was the third publisher to reject him.

Kemen reaches over and squeezes his hand. "Don't worry about it. They wouldn't know a good story if it bit them on the as- forehead." David rolls his eyes but smiles none the less.

They continue like that through food arriving and the following meal.

"Would you like the bill split?" Taylor asks as food is finished.

"Nope," Kemen says, pulling out the credits their mom had given them for dinner. "You just moved into town, haven't you?"

"Ah, that obvious?" The waiter smiles rubbing the back of their head.

"Yeah, well, most people know that we're all siblings. And you asking if we wanted to split the bill was kind of a dead giveaway that you didn't." Kemen says, clearly having way too much fun messing with the guy.

Taylor blushes. "I'm so sorry."

"Nah, it's fine," David says glaring at Kemen. "Most people make that mistake. It's something we're used to."

"You shouldn't have to." Taylor shakes their head, heading off to get the check.

David sighs. Seriously, why is dating so hard…

A few minutes later, the waiter places the bill down while rushing to deliver another tables food. Kemen opens the folder and laughs.

"What?" David asks.

"Good job, Aibek," Kemen says between laughs tilting it to show Aibek and then handing David the folder. On top of their bill was a com number.

"See I told you. You were making it too complicated." Aibek smirks.

David grumbles a "thanks" as he turns as red as the cushions.

 **I love these siblings.**

 **Thank You Time! Thank you, RebelStarbirdPadawan, for following. Thank you, Ghost-Spectre-1, for following and favorite. Thank you, Midnight Luna and Inner Fangirl, for reviewing. As for Zeb and Kallus's relationship, it is there. This focus more on Ezra's post-war life, which has more to do with Kanan, Hera, and the kids because he lives with them. But the entire Ghost crew is still ridiculous close, so they are very much involved with each others' lives. If it is background, minor or whatever I can't say. It will just be there.**


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